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PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


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Presented    b3^Y^V^^"\0\e^r^\^"^(7\-WoY^^ 


BS  650 

.M6  1887 

Morris, 

Herbert 

W.  1818- 

1897. 

Natural 

laws  and 

gospel 

teachings 

M,-f^-%  f/-  fc--^  -^^ 


Natural  Laws 


AND 


GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 


BY 
HERBERT  W.  MORRIS,  D.  D., 

AUTHOR   OF  "SCIKNCE  AND   THE   BIBLE,"   "TESTIMONY  OF  THE 
AGES,"   ETC. 


AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY, 

150  NASSAU   STREET,    NEW  YORK    CITY. 


COPYRIGHT,  1SS7, 
EY  AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY. 


INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS. 

The  Records.     The  Ordeals.     The  Weapons  and  Fields  of 

Conflict.    The  Objecfof  the  Volume 5 

PART  I. 

NATURE'S  RECORD  AND  THE  GOSPEL  NARRATIVES. 

I.  Coincidence  as  to  Localities 12 

n.  Coincidence  as  to  Vegetation 39 

IIL  Coincidence  as  to  Living  Creatures 48 

IV.  Coincidence  as  to  Climate 57 

V.  Conclusion 60 

PART  11. 

NATURAL  LAWS  AND  THE  MIRACLES  OF  CHRIST. 

I.  The  Subject  stated 66 

II.  Miracles  an  Essential  Part  of  Christianity 66 

III.  Miracles  not  Impossible 68 

IV.  Objections  to  Miracles 70 

V.  Evidence  for  Miracles  in  Nature ']^ 

VI.  Character  of  the  Evidence  for  Christ's  Miracles 93 

VII.  The  Criteria  of  Christ's  Miracles 95 

VIII.  Witnesses  for  the  greatest  of  Gospel  Miracles 97 

IX.  Historic  Evidence  for  Christ's  Miracles loi 

X.  The  Character  of  Christ  an  Evidence  for  his  Miracles.-  106 


4  CONTENTS. 

PART  III. 

NATURAL  LAWS  AND  ANSWER  TO  PRAYER. 

L  Prayer  a  Duty  and  a  Privilege 109 

IL  Objections  Urged  against  Prayer iii 

in.  Prayer  the  Voice  of  Nature 114 

IV.  Prayer  Answered  by  Influence  on  Minds 120 

V.  Prayer  Answerable  through  Invariable  Laws 130 

VI.  Answer  to  Prayer  and  the  Conservation  of  Force 137 

VII.  Conclusion 143 

PART  IV. 

NATURAL  LAWS  AND  THE  RESURRECTION  OF  THE 
DEAD. 

I.  The  Resurrection  a  Doctrine  of  Revelation 146 

II.  Difficulties  presented  by  the  Doctrine 147 

III.  How  the  Body  is  built  up 149 

IV.  How  the  Body  is  dissolved  and  changed 152 

V.  What  becomes  of  the  Material  Body 154 

VI.  Scripture  statements  verified 157 

VII.  The  Builder  of  this  Earthly  Tabernacle 159 

VIII.  The  properties  of  the  Body  that  shall  be 164 

IX.  To  every  seed  his  own  Body 169 

PART  V. 

NATURAL  LAWS  AND  THE  FINAL  CONFLAGRATION. 

I.  The  Subject  stated 173 

II.  Tha  Element  that  shall  Destroy  the  World 175 

III.  Conflagration  of  other  Worlds 183 

IV.  Past  Destructions  and  Renovations  of  our  Planet 185 

V.  The  New  Earth  and  New  Heavens 18S 

VI.  The  Dwellers  of  the  New  Earth 191 


INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS. 


In  the  New  Testament  we  have  four  distinct 
narratives  of  the  Life  of  the  great  teacher, 
Jesus  of  Nazareth.  These  were  written  by  four 
different  authors,  each  of  whom  professes  to  give, 
to  the  extent  of  his  plan  and  purpose  in  writing, 
a  true  account  of  his  birth  and  parentage,  habits 
and  character,  teachings  and  miracles,  sufferings 
and  death. 

No  records,  no  writings  of  any  character,  an- 
cient or  modern,  have  been  so  closely  studied  or 
been  subjected  to  such  varied  and  severe  criticism 
as  have  these  four  brief  biographies.  The  ordeal 
through  which  they  have  passed  is  without  a 
parallel  in  the  history  of  literature.  Nothing  that 
is  embraced  in  them,  nothing  that  is  connected 
with  them,  has  escaped  the  most  searching  scru- 
tiny. The  facts  which  they  relate,  the  doctrines 
which  they  teach,  the  references  they  make  to 
social  habits  and  civil  rulers,  the  principles  of 
ethics  and  science  and  philosophy  which  they  in- 
volve, the  dates  and  localities  they  name,  together 
with  every  item  and  incident  they  contain,  have 
all  been  subjected  to  the  severest  examination  by 


6  INTRODUCTORY    REMARKS. 

all  orders  of  intellect  for  eiq:liteen  centuries.  No 
means  or  method  that  can  well  be  conceived  has 
been  left  unemployed  by  their  enemies  to  disprove 
their  claims,  to  overthrow  their  authority,  and  to 
oppose  their  influence. 

The  ground  and  method  adopted  to  oppose  and 
undermine  the  gospel  have  ever  changed  with  the 
changes  of  time.  Old  fields  having  been  found 
untenable  and  old  weapons  having  proved  power- 
less, others  supposed  to  be  more  promising  have 
been  taken  up  in  their  stead.  This  has  taken 
place  again  and  again.  In  the  last  age  the  most 
powerful  assaults  made  were  on  the  ground  of 
metaphysics.  In  our  own  day  the  battle  is  main- 
ly waged  on  the  field  of  the  pJiysical  scmices ;  and 
here  the  most  specious  and  threatening  attacks 
that  have  ever  assailed  the  gospel  have  been  made. 
On  this  field  it  is  attempted  to  set  the  record  of 
matter  against  the  record  of  the  Spirit,  to  oppose 
the  laws  of  nature  to  the  laws  and  miracles  of 
Christ,  and  to  array  the  forces  of  nature  against 
the  very  foundations  of  providence  and  prayer 
and  hope  of  resurrection  to  a  better  life.  And  it 
is  to  a  consideration  of  these  last  attacks  made  on 
the  Christian  faith  that  the  following  pages  are 
devoted.  In  them  we  hope  to  offer  abundant  proof 
that  the  foundation  of  our  faith  still  standetli 
strong  and  to  present  facts  that  will  enable  the 


INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS.  7 

Christian  reader  to  give  a  scientific  as  well  as  a 
Scriptural  reason  for  the  hope  that  is  in  him. 

As  a  fitting  introduction  to  what  is  to  follow 
and  as  affording  an  indisputable  corroboration  of 
the  truth  and  accuracy  of  the  gospel  narratives, 
our  first  chapter  shall  be  occupied  with  a  pre- 
sentation of  the  complete  coincidence  of  the  evan- 
gelists' statements  with  those  of  recent  explorers 
in  relation  to  the  physical  features,  natural  pro- 
ductions, cities  and  villages,  streams  and  routes,  of 
the  land  in  which  the  scenes  of  the  gospel  were 
enacted.  The  testimony  which  nature  thus  bears 
can  neither  be  gainsaid  nor  resisted,  and  the  mi- 
nute and  perfect  accuracy  of  the  Scriptures  as 
thus  tested  confirms  our  confidence  in  their  truth- 
fulness where  we  have  not  the  same  means  of 
testing  them. 


NATURAL    LAWS 


AND 


GOSPEL    TEACHINGS 


PART   I. 

nature's  record  and  gospel  narratives. 

Between  history  and  geography,  between 
events  and  localities,  there  is  always  a  real  and 
necessary  connection,  and  the  latter  serve  not  only 
to  explain,  but  also  to  corroborate,  the  former. 
Wherever  a  narrative  or  transaction  is  involved  in 
the  conditions  of  a  place  or  spot  still  accessible 
and  open  for  examination,  there  we  have  an  ele- 
ment of  evidence  for  the  narrative  or  transaction 
which  is  substantial  and  not  to  be  set  aside. 
"Facts,"  says  Prof  Stanley,  "are  stubborn,  and 
geographical  facts  happily  the  most  stubborn  of 
all.  We  cannot  wrest  them  to  meet  our  views, 
but  neither  can  we  refuse  the  conclusions  they 
force  upon  us.  It  is  by  more  than  a  figure  of 
speech  that  natural  scenes  are  said  to  have  *  wit- 


lO     NATURAI.  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

nessed  *  the  events  which  occurred  in  their  pres- 
ence. They  are  '  witnesses  '  which  remain  when 
the  testimony  of  men  and  books  has  perished. , 
They  can  be  cross-examined  with  the  alleged  facts 
and  narratives.  If  they  cannot  tell  the  whole 
truth,  at  any  rate,  so  far  as  they  have  any  voice 
at  all,  they  tell  nothing  but  the  truth."  The 
correctness  of  these  observations  is  abundantly 
exemplified  in  the  to]30graphy  of  every  land  whose 
ancient  history  has  come  down  to  us  with  any 
degree  of  accurate  detail,  but  in  that  of  no  country 
more  strikingly  than  in  Palestine. 

Palestine,  the  land  of  the  Saviour's  birth  and 
ministry  and  the  scene  of  all  the  events  and  do- 
ings related  by  the  evangelists,  within  the  last 
fifty  years  has  been  visited  by  great  numbers  of 
intelligent  men,  learned  historians,  and  experi- 
enced naturalists  of  every  shade  of  faith  and  of 
every  type  of  unbelief.  It  has  been  studiously 
explored  again  and  again  from  one  end  to  the 
other;  its  ancient  sites  and  ruins,  its  lakes  and 
streams  and  mountains,  its  climate  and  soil  and 
productions,  have  all  been  carefully  studied,  and 
latterly  its  whole  extent  has  been  accurately  sur- 
veyed and  mapped  by  a  scientific  corps  sent  out 
from  England,  In  short,  not  a  spot  of  ground, 
not  a  vegetable  growth,  not  a  living  species  of 
beast  or  bird  or  insect,  has  been  left  unstudied  that 


PHYSICAL  COINCIDENCES.  II 

is  mentioned  in  either  of  the  four  Gospels.  And 
the  result  of  all  this  has  been  that  the  harmony 
between  the  simple  statements  and  incidental 
allusions  of  the  evangelists  and  the  present  fea- 
tures and  products  of  the  land  is  found  to  be  so 
striking  and  complete,  that  it  stands  now  an  ac- 
knowledged fact  that  these  writers  must  have 
been  citizens  of  this  country  and  must  have  been 
dwellers  in  it  at  the  time  of  which  they  speak 
and  familiar  with  the  scenes  they  describe. 

Here,  then,  are  evidences  in  support  of  the 
gospel  narratives  which  no  theory  or  interpreta- 
tion can  controvert  or  deny.  Nor  is  this  all. 
The  warp  and  woof  of  a  piece  of  tapestry  are  not 
more  closely  related  to  the  forms  and  figures  dis- 
played upon  it  than  are  the  physical  features  of 
Palestine  to  the  events  and  doings  of  the  gospel 
history.  Its  journeys  and  discourses,  parables  and 
miracles,  are  so  involved  in  the  conditions,  sur- 
roundings, or  imagery  of  the  localities  where  they 
transpired  that  a  glance  at  these  as  they  still  exist 
is  sufficient  to  carry  conviction  to  all  candid  minds 
that  in  those  Gospels  they  are  reading,  not  myths 
or  legends,  but  real  history,  and  that  they  are  fol- 
lowing, not  a  phantom  hero,  but  a  living  Man  who 
trod  the  ground  on  which  they  stand,  heard  the 
murmur  of  the  waves  and  streams  which  fall  upon 
their  own  ears,  and  looked  upon  the  scenes  on 


12      NATURAI.  T.AWS  AND  GOSPKL  TEACHINGS. 

which  their  own  eyes  now  gaze.  To  be  convinced 
of  all  this  let  us  now  follow  the  footsteps  of  the 
blessed  Redeemer  as  he  went  through  the  cities 
and  villages  preaching  and  showing  the  glad 
tidings  of  the  kingdom  of  God. 

I.    COINCIDENCE   AS  TO   LOCALITIES. 

Bethlehem. — The  gospel  history  opens  with 
the  joyful  announcement,  "Behold,  I  bring  you 
good  tidings  of  great  joy  which  shall  be  to  all 
people;  for  unto  you  is  born  this  day,  in  the  city 
of  David,  a  Saviour,  which  is  Christ  the  lyord." 
This  city  of  David  (Bethlehem)  still  remains 
with  its  name  scarcely  changed,  being  now 
called  Beit-lahm.  It  is  situated  some  six  miles 
south  of  Jerusalem,  on  a  narrow  ridge,  with  creep- 
ing vineyards  along  its  slopes  and  cornfields  be- 
low. At  the  distance  of  about  a  mile  east  is  a 
little  plain,  now  marked  by  the  "Chapel  of  the 
Herald  Angel ' '  as  possibly  the  place  where  grazed 
the  flocks  over  which  the  shepherds  kept  watch 
by  night.  The  site  of  Bethlehem  and  the  whole 
surrounding  scene  are  in  perfect  agreement  with 
all  we  read  of  them  in  the  sacred  history.  There 
exists  no  doubt  of  its  identity,  nor  has  there  ever 
been  a  doubt. 

Egypt. — Warned  of  the  murderous  design  of 
Herod,    "Joseph  took  the  young  child  and  his 


PHYSICAL  COINCIDENCES.  1 3 

mother  by  night  and  departed  into  Egypt."  From 
Bethlehem  Egypt  was  the  nearest  and  most  natu- 
ral place  of  refuge  to  which  they  could  flee.  It 
could  be  reached  in  three  or  four  days;  and  once 
on  the  farther  bank  of  the  winter  stream  which 
marked  its  boundary,  they  would  be  beyond  the 
reach  of  Herod's  jurisdiction. 

Nazareth. — Informed  of  the  death  of  Herod, 
Joseph  ventured  to  leave  Egypt  and  to  return  to 
the  land  of  Israel;  but,  as  he  drew  near,  learning 
that  Archelaus  reigned  in  Judaea  in  the  room  of 
his  father  Herod,  he  was  afraid  to  go  thither,  and 
by  divine  direction  "he  turned  aside  into  the 
parts  of  Galilee  and  came  and  dwelt  in  a  city 
called  Nazareth."  And  there,  according  to  the 
evangelists,  was  the  home  of  Jesus  from  his  in- 
fancy to  his  manhood.  And  this  place,  like  Beth- 
lehem, has  preserved  his  memory  through  all  the 
centuries  and  remains  to  this  day  a  visible  witness 
for  the  reality  of  his  person  and  the  truth  of  his 
history.  In  its  present  site  and  aspect  every  state- 
ment and  allusion  of  the  evangelists  finds  its  full 
and  clear  confirmation.  Its  name,  En-Nazirah,  is 
the  same  as  that  given  it  in  Matthew  2:23.  It  is 
built  on  a  hillside,  as  described  in  Luke  4:29.  It 
is  situated  within  the  province  of  Galilee,  as 
stated  in  Mark  1:9.  It  is  near  to  Cana,  as  inti- 
mated in  John  2:1,  2,  11.     Behind  and  above  it  is 


14      NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

a  precipice,  steep  and  forty  feet  high,  correspond- 
ing to  that  described  in  Luke  4:29,  to  which  his 
enraged  fellow-townsmen  led  him,  purposing  to 
cast  him  down  thence  to  destroy  him.  Its  site 
stands  nearly  1,500  feet  higher  than  that  of  Ca- 
pernaum, so  that  when  he  visited  the  latter  place, 
as  stated  in  Luke  4:31  and  in  John  4:47,  he  lit- 
erally "went  down"  to  Capernaum.  So  correct 
and  definite  are  the  statements  of  the  gospel  nar- 
'ratives;  yet  all  these  topographical  facts  are  men- 
tioned merely  incidentally  therein ;  the  correspond- 
ence, therefore,  between  the  statements  and  the 
facts  as  now  found  existing  is  all  the  more  won- 
derful and  convincing. 

Jerusalem. — According  to  the  national  cus- 
tom, Joseph  and  Mary  visited  Jerusalem  every 
year  at  the  feast  of  the  Passover.  Arrived  at  the 
age  of  twelve  years,  when  Jewish  boys  began  to 
assume  the  responsibilities  of  the  law,  Jesus  ac- 
companied his  parents  to  celebrate  this  feast  at 
the  great  city.  The  existence  of  Jerusalem  and 
the  identity  of  its  site  at  this  day  are  too  well 
known  to  require  any  proof.  The  observance  of 
the  feast  over,  they  set  out  in  company  with  a 
multitude  of  others  to  return,  but  "the  child  Jesus 
tarried  behind  in  Jerusalem,  and  Joseph  and  his 
mother  knew  not  of  it.  But  they,  supposing  him 
to  have  been  in  the  company,  went  a  day's  jour- 


PHYSICAL  COINCIDENCES.  15 

ney;  and  they  sought  him  among  their  kinsfolk 
and  acquaintance.  And  when  they  found  him 
not  they  turned  back  again  to  Jerusalem,  seeking 
him."  * 'Among  such  a  sea  of  human  beings," 
says  Dr.  Farrar,  "how  easy  would  it  be  to  lose 
one  young  boy.  The  incident  constantly  occurs 
to  this  day  in  the  annual  expeditions  of  the  pil- 
grims to  bathe  in  the  fords  of  Jordan  and  among 
the  hundreds  of  Mohammedans  whom  I  have  seen 
at  Easter  streaming  southwards  to  the  tomb  of 
Moses."  "Went  a  day's  journey:"  this  expression 
implies  that  the  entire  journey  would  occupy  sev- 
eral days,  and  so  it  did,  for  the  whole  distance  was 
about  eighty  miles.  The  first  day's  journey  by 
caravan  is  often  but  a  few  miles.  Here,  then,  again 
localities,  time,  distance,  and  circumstances  are  all 
perfectly  coincident  with  the  gospel  narratives. 

Bethabara. — From  Jerusalem  Jesus  returned 
home  with  his  parents.  After  this  nothing  is  re- 
lated of  him  till  he  was  thirty  years  old,  when  he 
left  Nazareth  and  went  down  to  receive  baptism 
at  the  hands  of  John.  This  v/as  ' '  at  Bethabara 
beyond  Jordan,  where  John  was  baptising."  In 
the  Revised  Version  this  is  rendered  Bethany.  No 
visible  mark  remains  to  indicate  the  spot,  but  from 
a  consideration  of  all  the  facts  mentioned  in  con- 
nection with  it,  and  especially  from  the  significa- 
tion of  the  name,  which  is  "  House  of  ford,"  it  is 


l6      NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

thought  by  some  to  have  been  at  the  upper  ford  of 
Jordan,  on  the  east  side,  and  not  far  south  of  Lake 
Tiberias.  It  was  ' '  in  the  wilderness, ' '  we  are 
told,  that  John  administered  this  rite,  and  the  re- 
tired solitude  of  that  deep  valley  was  and  still  is 
truly  such.  It  was  on  the  banks  of  the  Jordan 
that  Jesus  joined  the  assembled  multitude,  and 
that  stream  still  flows  between  its  banks  as  of 
yore.  The  tall  "reeds  shaken  with  the  wind" 
are  still  there.  And  the  bare  "stones"  still  lie 
around  from  which  the  Baptist  said  God  was 
"able  to  raise  up  children  unto  Abraham." 

Scene  of  the  Temptation — The  baptism 
of  Christ  was  immediately  followed  by  his  mys- 
terious temptation.  ' '  Then  was  Jesus  led  up  of 
the  Spirit  into  the  wilderness  to  be  tempted  of  the 
devil."  He  was  now  on  the  east  bank  of  Jordan, 
and  from  thence  "was  led  up,"  that  is,  up  to  the 
desolate  hills  beyond.  "And  he  was  therewith 
the  wild  beasts:"  the  undisturbed  thickets  and 
caves  of  that  region  to  this  day  make  it  the  favor- 
ite haunt  of  such  creatures.  There  the  tempter 
bade  him  "command  that  these  stones  be  made 
bread;"  and  at  many  a  spot  the  ground  is  still 
strewn  with  stones  of  every  size  and  form.  "And 
the  devil  taketh  him  up  into  an  exceeding  high 
mountain  and  showeth  him  all  the  kingdoms  of 
the  world;"  and  there,  a  little  north  of  the  Jabbok, 


PIIYSICAI.  COINCIDENCES.  17 

just  such  a  high  mountain  is  found,  from  the 
summit  of  which  a  most  extended  prospect  of  the 
whole  surrounding  region  is  presented ;  the  heights 
of  Lebanon,  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  the  plain  of  Es- 
draelon,  Mt.  Carmel,  the  Mediterranean,  and  the 
whole  range  of  Judah  and  Ephraim  are  distinctly 
visible.  Prof.  Palmer  pronounces  it  the  finest 
view  he  ever  saw  in  any  part  of  the  world.  And 
Dean  Stanley  says  of  it,  "It  is  in  all  probability 
the  view  which  furnished  the  framework  of  the 
vision  of  '  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world '  which 
was  revealed  in  a  moment  of  time  to  Him  who 
was  driven  up  from  the  valley  below  to  these 
mountains  at  the  opening  of  his  public  ministry." 
Cana.  —  The  temptation  ended,  the  Saviour 
returned  from  the  wilderness  to  the  scene  of  his 
baptism  at  the  fords  of  Jordan.  Seeing  him  ap- 
proaching, the  Baptist  said  to  those  that  stood  by, 
*' Behold  the  Lamb  of  God  which  taketh  away 
the  sin  of  the  world  !"  In  virtue  of  this  memor- 
able testimony  two  Galileans  at  once  became  the 
disciples  of  Christ,  and  on  the  next  day  three  more. 
Accompanied  by  these  he  returned  to  Galilee, 
''x^nd  the  third  day  there  w^as  a  marriage  in  Cana 
of  Galilee,  and  the  mother  of  Jesus  was  there. 
And  both  Jesus  was  called  and  his  disciples  to  the 
marriaofe."  Here  made  he  the  water  into  wine. 
This  village  still  exists  under  the  slightly  altered 

Natural  Laws.  2 


l8     NATURAL  LAWS  AND  G0SPE:L  TEACHINGS. 

name  Keniia,  and  agrees  in  all  the  few  particulars 
given  of  the  place  where  Jesus  performed  this  his 
first  miracle.  It  is  in  the  province  of  Galilee,  as 
stated  in  John  2:1;  it  is  near  to  Nazareth,  as  in- 
timated by  the  same,  2:2,  being  only  four  and  a 
half  miles  distant,  and  it  stands  on  higher  ground 
than  Capernaum,  as  is  implied  in  the  words, 
"After  this  he  went  down  to  Capernaum." 

Jacob's  well. — A  few  months  after  the  above 
occurrence  Jesus,  it  is  related,  went  up  to  Jerusa- 
lem to  observe  the  Passover,  and  on  his  return 
' '  he  must  needs  go  through  Samaria,  and  cometh 
to  a  city  which  is  called  Sychar,  near  to  the  parcel 
of  ground  that  Jacob  gave  to  his  son  Joseph.  Now 
Jacob's  well  was  there.  Jesus,  therefore,  being 
weary  with  his  journey,  sat  thus  on  the  well;  and 
it  was  about  the  sixth  hour.  There  cometh  a  wo- 
man of  Samaria  to  draw  water.  Jesus  saith  unto 
her.  Give  me  to  drink,"  etc.  John  4.  This  in- 
cident, together  with  the  conversation  with  the 
woman,  and  the  interesting  and  important  dis- 
course with  the  disciples  to  which  it  gave  rise,  as 
related  by  St.  John, -grew  naturally  out  of  the 
local  situation  where  the  Saviour  on  his  journey 
found  himself  at  the  noonday  hour;  and  all  the 
roots  of  the  story,  instead  of  springing  from  some 
mythic  or  legendary  brain,  intertwine  among  the 
very  peculiarities  of  the  place,  which  still  remain 


PHYSICAL  COINCIDENCES.  19 

for  examination  and  comparison.  In  passing  from 
Jernsalem  to  central  Galilee,  whither  Jesns  was 
now  going,  the  traveller  still  "must  needs  pass 
through  Samaria,'*  and  pass,  too,  "near  to  Sy- 
char,"  or  where  Sychar  stood,  of  which  traces  are 
yet  discernible.  "Jacob's  well  "  is  still  there,  for 
the  most  part  hewn  in  the  solid  rock,  but  near  the 
surface  incased  in  masonry.  That ' '  well  is  deep ' ' 
still,  not  less  than  seventy-five  feet,  though  much 
rubbish  has  fallen  in  and  accumulated  at  the  bot- 
tom. Fragments  also  of  the  temple  still  remain 
on  "this  mount"  of  Geri^im,  in  which  the  Sa- 
maritans said  "men  ought  to  worship."  The 
rich  "grain-fields'"'  still  spread  in  prospect  from 
the  spot  as  when  "he  sat  weary  at  the  well." 
In  short,  all  the  essential  features  of  the  scene,  as 
described  by  the  evangelist,  remain  unto  this  day. 
"On  Sunday  afternoon,"  says  Prof  H.  B.  Tris- 
tram, "  we  mounted  the  edge  of  the  old  vault  and 
read  together  John  4.  That  chapter  read  by  this 
well  brings  vividly  home  the  accuracy  of  the  evan- 
gelist. No  other  spot  could  so  perfectly  harmo- 
nise all  the  incidents  of  the  inspired  narrative. 
The  very  ruins  are  in  keeping  with  it. ' '  The  spot 
is  undisputed  and  indisputable;  Jews  and  Samari- 
tans, Christians  and  Mohammedans,  are  agreed 
concerning  it. 

After  a  stay  of  two  days  at  Sychar  Jesus  re- 


20     NATURAI.  I.AWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

sumed  his  journey,  preaching  the  glad  tidings  of 
the  kingdom  as  he  advanced,  until  he  reached  his 
home  in  Galilee.  Being  rejected  with  rage  and 
violence  by  his  townsmen  on  the  following  Sab- 
bath, he  bade  a  final  adieu  to  Nazareth  and  made 
his  future  home  beside  the  sunlit  waters  of  the 
I^ake  of  Galilee. 

Basin  of  the  Sea  of  GauleE. — '*  Leaving 
Nazareth,  he  came  and  dwelt  in  Capernaum, 
which  is  upon  the  sea-coast."  The  country  bor- 
dering upon  this  beautiful  lake  in  the  early  part 
of  the  first  century,  as  we  have  abundant  histori- 
cal evidence,  was  widely  different  in  its  condition 
and  aspect  from  what  it  is  at  the  present  day.  It 
was  then  occupied  by  a  large  and  busy  popula- 
tion. The  soil  was  fertile  and  well  cultivated 
everywhere,  and  bore  rich  crops  of  grain  and  all 
manner  of  delicious  fruits.  Every  quarter  exhib- 
ited a  scene  of  activity  and  thrift.  Its  shores  were 
adorned  with  numerous  cities  and  villages.  Some 
of  these  stood  out  conspicuously  on  the  clear 
banks,  and  some  lay  half  hid  in  the  foliage  of  the 
receding  hillsides.  Everywhere  the  beach  spar- 
kled with  the  houses  and  palaces  of  the  Roman  in- 
habitants or  with  the  dwellings  and  synagogues 
of  the  Jews.  At  various  points  the  arms  and  ar- 
mor of  drilling  garrisons  or  standing  sentinels 
were  seen  elitterine  in  the  sunshine.     Alone  the 


PHYSICAI.  COINCIDENCES.  21 

water's  edge  were  heard  the  resounding  strokes  of 
the  busy  shipbuilders  at  every  convenient  sj^ot. 
From  the  cities  and  villages  fishermen  went  forth 
by  scores  and  hundreds  over  the  lake,  which 
abounded  with  fish.  With  the  boats  of  these 
mingled  many  vessels  of  traffic  and  pleasure.  In 
a  word,  the  basin  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee  was  a  focus 
of  life  and  activity.  Nowhere  else,  except  per- 
haps at  Jerusalem  itself,  could  Jesus  have  found 
such  a  field  for  his  gracious  ministry;  from  no 
other  centre  could  ''his  fame"  have  so  readily 
spread  "throughout  all  Syria;"  and  nowhere  else 
could  he  have  drawn  around  him  the  vast  multi- 
tudes who  hung  on  his  lips,  "from  Galilee,  from 
Decapolis,  from  Judaea,  and  from  beyond  Jordan." 
In  this  populous  region  where  the  evangelists 
place  the  Saviour  everything  is  in  perfect  harmo- 
ny with  the  gracious  end  of  his  ministry  and  with 
all  the  localities  and  incidents  they  describe- 
Here  was  the  "Way  of  the  Sea,"  the  great  cara- 
van road  that  ran  along  its  western  shore.  Here 
were  multitudes  "sitting  in  darkness  and  in  the 
region  and  shadow  of  death,"  who  stood  in  dying 
need  of  "the  great  light"  which  he  brought  into 
the  world.  Here  were  ' '  the  publicans  sitting  at 
the  receipt  of  custom,"  Capernaum  being  the  di- 
vergent point  of  the  roads  to  Tyre,  to  Damascus, 
to  Jerusalem,  and  to  Sepphoris,  the  busy  centre  of 


22     NATURAL  I.AWS  AND  GOSPKL  TEACHINGS. 

merchandise,  and  therefore  the  natural  place  for 
the  collection  of  tribute  and  taxes.  Here  were 
' '  the  women  who  were  sinners, ' '  drawn  from 
heathen  cities  or  corrupted  by  heathen  manners. 
Here  were  Roman  *' centurions  under  authority, '* 
issuinor  their  stern  commands  to  soldiers  and  ser- 
vants.  And  here,  too,  were  hardy  "fishermen 
toiling  through  the  night"  and  "washing"  or 
"mending  their  nets"  during  the  day.  In  a 
word,  here  were  found  in  actual  existence  and 
living  reality,  to  their  minutest  particulars,  all 
things  that  are  described  or  named  in  the  gospel 
narratives. 

In  reading  the  gospel  history  of  the  Saviour's 
ministry  in  this  notable  field,  our  first  and  last 
and  vivid  impression  is,  not  that  we  are  tracing 
the  misty  movements  of  a  legendary  or  fictitious 
character,  but  following  the  steps  and  witnessing 
the  deeds  of  a  living  Man  in  contact  wdth  living 
men,  and  in  close  and  immediate  connection  with 
the  localities  known  to  have  existed  ther^. 

Capernaum. — "He  came  and  dwelt  in  Ca- 
pernaum." Here,  as  the  evangelists  relate,  he 
taught  the  people  and  wrought  many  miracles. 
The  doom  which  our  Lord  pronounced  against  it 
has  been  so  signally  fulfilled  that  its  very  site  even 
now  remains  a  matter  of  dispute.  The  gospel 
narratives  state  that  it  was  a  city,  that  it  was  sit- 


PHYSICAL   COINCIDKNCCS.  23 

uated  on  the  northern  shore  of  the  lake,  that  it 
was  on  the  west  side  in  or  near  the  land  of  Gen- 
nesaret,  and  that  it  had  a  synagogue  built  by  a 
Roman  centurion  at  liis  own  expense.  In  1870 
the  English  explorers,  Capt.  Wilson  and  his  asso- 
ciates, discovered,  at  a  spot  called  Tell  Hum, 
ruins  of  walls  and  foundations  covering  a  space 
half  a  mile  long  and  a  quarter  of  a  mile  w^ide,  in 
which  all  the  above  conditions  seemed  to  meet 
and  which  they  believed  to  be  the  site  of  Caper- 
naum. Among  the  ruins  were  those  of  a  syna- 
gogue in  a  state  of  fine  preservation,  remarkable 
for  its  elegant  architecture  and  belonging  to  an 
age  at  least  as  early  as  that  of  Christ.  Speaking  of 
the  work  of  excavation  in  and  around  this  build- 
ing, Capt.  Wilson  says,  *'It  was  in  this  synagogue 
that  our  Lord  delivered  the  discourse  recorded  in 
John  6,  and  it  was  not  without  a  certain  strange 
feeling  that  in  turning  over  a  large  block  we 
found  the  'pot  of  manna'  engraved  on  its  face 
and  remembered  these  words  in  that  discourse: 
*I  am  the  Bread  of  life.  Your  fathers  did  eat 
manna  in  the  wilderness  and  are  dead.'  "  To 
that  engraved  figure  turned  up  by  the  English 
explorer  the  very  finger  of  Jesus  perhaps  w^as 
pointed  as  he  uttered  these  memorable  words. 

Chora^in. — This  place  is  often  mentioned  in 
connection  with  Capernaum  and  as  being  in  its 


24      NATURAI.  I.AWS  AND  GOSPEI.  TEACHINGS. 

neigliborliood.  And  two  miles  nortli  of  Tell  Hum 
are  found  ruins  answerinor  all  the  demands  of  the 
gospel  history  and  still  bearing  the  name  Kho- 
ra2;y,  which,  according  to  Dr.  Thomson,  is  the 
Arabic  form  of  Chora^in.  On  visiting  the  spot, 
"Here  we  are,"  says  he,  "among  the  shapeless 
heaps  of  Chorazin,  which  attest  most  impressively 
the  fulfilment  of  that  prophetic  curse  of  the  Son 
of  God.  It  is  just  where  we  might  expect  to  find 
it." 

Bethsaida. — In  the  sacred  narratives  Beth- 
saida  is  associated  with  Capernaum  and  Chorazin 
as  being  a  neighboring  town  and  doomed  to  the 
same  woe.  It  is  also  said  to  have  been  the  city  of 
Andrew  and  Peter,  who  were  fishermen,  and  fish- 
ing, as  its  name  (House  of  Fish)  implies,  was  the 
chief  occupation  of  its  inhabitants.  Two  miles 
east  of  Tell  Hum  and  three  miles  southeast  of 
Khorazy,  at  the  debouchure  of  the  Jordan  into 
the  lake,  Dr.  Thomson  found  a  heap  of  ruins, 
which  in  all  the  above  particulars  answers  to  the 
Bethsaida  of  the  gospel,  and  which  therefore  he 
considered  to  be  its  true  site. 

Country  oe  the  Gergesenes.— Our  I^ord 
on  a  certain  occasion,  being  weary  with  inces- 
sant labors  in  the  populous  neighborhood  of  the 
above  cities,  took  ship  and  sought  rest  on  the 
more  quiet  eastern  side  of  the  lake,  in  the  district 


PIIYSICAI.   COINCIDENCES.  25 

of  the  Gergeseiies.  Here,  it  is  related,  Matt.  8: 28, 
etc.,  immediately  on  liis  landing  he  met  and 
healed  two  furious  demoniacs  coming  out  of  the 
tombs,  and  suffered  the  evil  spirits  that  possessed 
them  to  enter  into  a  herd  of  swine,  which,  under 
their  diabolical  influence,  rushed  into  the  lake  and 
perished.  Now  on  that  very  coast  Dr.  Thomson 
found  a  little  prostrate  town,  called  Gersa,  whose 
position  and  surroundings  answer  in  all  particu- 
lars to  the  account  given  by  the  evangelists.  This 
is  his  statement:  "The  present  name,  as  pro- 
nounced by  the  Bedouin  Arabs,  is  very  similar 
to  that  given  by  Matthew.  It  is  within  a  few 
rods  of  the  shore,  and  an  immense  mountain  rises 
directly  above  it,  in  which  are  ancient  tombs,  out 
of  some  of  v/hich  the  two  men  possessed  of  the 
devils  may  have  issued  to  meet  Jesus.  The  lake 
is  so  near  the  base  of  the  mountain  that  the  swine, 
rushing  madly  down  it,  could  not  stop,  but  would 
be  hurried  on  into  the  water  and  drowned.  Take 
your  stand  a  little  south  of  this  Gersa.  A  great 
heard  of  swine,  we  w^ll  suppose,  is  feeding  on  this 
mountain  that  towers  above  it.  They  are  seized 
with  a  sudden  panic,  rush  madly  down  the  steep 
declivity,  those  behind  tumbling  over  and  thrust- 
ing forward  those  before,  and  as  there  is  neither 
time  nor  space  to  recover  on  the  narrow  shelf  be- 
tween the  base  and  the  lake,  they  are  crowded 


26      NATURAI.  LAWS  AND  GOSPElv  TEACHINGS. 

headlong  into  the  water  and  perish.  All  is  per- 
fectly natural  just  at  this  point,  and  here,  I  sup- 
pose, it  did  actually  occur." 

The  Desert  Place. — Some  time  after  the 
above  occurrence,  on  receiving  the  news  of  the 
murder  of  John  the  Baptist,  saddened  and  wear>^, 
Jesus  with  his  disciples  left  Capernaum  "and  de- 
parted thence  by  ship  into  a  desert  place  apart; 
and  when  the  people  had  heard  thereof  they  fol- 
lowed him  on  foot  out  of  the  cities."  They  went 
round  the  end  of  the  lake  and  gathered  about  him 
on  the  opposite  side,  and  there,  after  delivering 
to  them  various  instructions,  he  fed  five  thou- 
sand of  them  with  five  loaves  and  two  fishes.  And 
here  again  we  quote  Dr.  Thomson,  who  from  years 
of  residence  is  perfectly  familiar  with  this  whole 
region.  "  Here,  at  the  end  of  the  plain  Bl  Bati- 
hah,  this  bold  headland  marks  the  spot,  according 
to  my  topography,  where  the  five  thousand  were 
fed.  From  the  four  narratives  of  this  stupendous 
miracle  we  gather,  ist,  that  the  place  belonged  to 
Bethsaida;  2d,  that  it  was  a  desert  place;  3d,  that 
it  was  near  the  shore  of  the  lake,  for  they  came 
to  it  by  boat;  4th,  that  there  was  a  mountain  close 
at  hand;  5th,  that  it  was  a  smooth,  grassy  spot, 
capable  of  seating  many  thousand  people.  Now 
all  these  requisites  are  found  in  this  exact  locality 
and  nowhere  else,  so  far  as  I  can  discover.     This 


PHYSICAL  COINCIDENCES.  27 

Batihah  belonged  to  Bethsaida.  At  this  extreme 
southeast  corner  of  it  the  mountain  shuts  down 
upon  the  lake  bleak  and  barren.  It  was  doubt- 
less desert  then  as  now,  for  it  is  not  capable  of 
cultivation.  In  this  little  cove  the  boats  were 
anchored.  On  this  beautiful  sward  at  the  base  of 
the  rocky  hill  the  people  w^ere  seated  to  receive 
from  the  hands  of  the  Son  of  God  the  miraculous 
bread. ' ' 

IvAND  OF  GennESARET. — Immediately  after 
the  above  miracle  and  about  sunset  the  disciples, 
at  their  Master's  command,  set  out  to  return  in 
their  boat  to  Capernaum,  but  a  violent  wind 
springing  up  in  the  night  drove  them  out  of  their 
course,  during  which  Jesus  joined  them,  walking 
on  the  sea,  and  in  the  morning  they  reached  the 
shore  in  the  land  of  Gennesaret  at  a  point  some 
little  distance  south  of  Capernaum.  The  situa- 
tion and  features  of  this  land,  a  rich  and  beautiful 
little  plain,  are  so  definitely  and  clearly  described 
by  Josephus  and  others  as  to  identify  it  for  ever 
with  what  is  at  present  called  Kl  Ghuweir.  "Not 
the  slightest  question  can  arise,"  says  Prof.  Tris- 
tram, "  as  to  the  identification  of  Gennesaret  with 
the  modern  Kl  Ghuweir. ' ' 

MagdalA.  —  "Having  sent  the  multitude 
away,  he  took  ship  and  came  to  the  coasts  of  Mag- 
dala."     This  was  the  home  of  Mary,  whose  brief 


28      NATURAL  I.AWS  AND  GOSPKlv  TKACHINGS. 

but  touching  story  is  familiar  in  every  Christian 
land.  It  was  situated  in  the  southeast  corner  of 
the  plain  of  Gennesaret,  and  there  its  site  is  still 
marked  by  ruins  and  a  few  miserable  hovels.  Its 
present  name  is  Mejdel. 

Tiberias. — This  in  the  time  of  the  Saviour 
was  a  city  of  royal  magnificence,  having  been 
built  by  Herod  Antipas  in  honor  of  the  Emperor 
Tiberius.  Its  site  is  now  occupied  by  the  modern 
town  Tabariyeh,  where  abundant  traces  of  its  an- 
cient grandeur  may  be  seen  in  sculptured  granite 
and  broken  columns  half  buried  in  the  rubbish. 

Nain. — During  his  ministry  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  Sea  of  Galilee  our  Saviour  made  sev- 
eral excursions  to  the  surrounding  cities  and  vil- 
lages. On  one  occasion  he  left  Capernaum  and 
went  as  far  as  Nain  in  Galilee,  twenty-five  miles 
distant.  ''Now  when  he  came  nigh  to  the  gate 
of  the  city,  behold,  there  was  a  dead  man  carried 
out,  the  only  son  of  his  mother,  and  she  was  a 
widow;  and  much  people  of  the  city  was  with 
her.  And  when  the  I^ord  saw  her  he  had  com- 
passion on  her,  and  said  unto  her.  Weep  not.  And 
he  came  and  touched  the  bier,  and  they  that  bare 
him  stood  still.  And  he  said.  Young  man,  I  say 
unto  thee.  Arise.  And  he  that  was  dead  sat  up  and 
began  to  speak."  The  site  of  this  village  is  and 
always  has  been  well  known;  it  is  on  the  north- 


PHYSICAI.  COINCIDENCES.  29 

western  edge  of  the  hill  called  Jebel  ed-Duhy. 
Its  name  Nain,  now  Nein,  means  "fair,"  and  its 
sitnation,  nestling  picturesquely  on  the  hill-slopes 
of  the  graceful  mountain  and  full  in  view  of  Ta- 
bor and  the  heights  of  Zebulun,  justify  the  flat- 
tering title.  The  entrance  to  the  village  must 
always  have  been  up  the  steep  and  rocky  ascent 
from  the  plain;  and  here  the  Saviour  with  the 
multitude  that  followed  him  met  the  sad  proces- 
sion issuing  from  the  gate  to  bury  the  young  man 
outside  the  walls,  as  is  still  the  custom  of  the  peo- 
ple. On  the  east  side  the  rock  is  full  of  ancient 
sepulchral  caves,  to  one  of  which  doubtless  the 
body  of  the  young  man  was  now  being  carried 
for  burial.  The  whole  pathetic  narrative  is  in 
complete  accord  with  the  character  of  the  place  as 
seen  at  this  day. 

Tyre  and  Sidon. — On  another  occasion  we 
read  that  Jesus,  perhaps  seeking  both  safety  and 
repose,  ["withdrew  into  the  parts  of  Tyre  and 
Sidon."  The  existence  and  the  sites  of  these  two 
ancient  cities  of  Phoenicia  have  always  been  too 
well  known  to  require  proof.  Their  ruins  still 
remain  and  are  familiar  to  the  traveller.  From 
Capernaum  the  former  is  distant  in  a  straight  line 
about  35  miles,  and  the  latter  about  47  miles. 
The  only  incident  mentioned  in  connection  with 
this  excursion  is  the  healing  of  the  daughter  of  a 


30      NATUE.AI,  LAWS  AND  GOSPE;!.  TEACHINGS. 

"  Syroplioenician  woman,"  or,  as  Matthew  terms 
her,  ' '  a  woman  of  Canaan. ' '  The  terms  Canaan 
and  Phoenicia  had  succeeded  one  another  as  geo- 
graphical names  of  the  same  district  of  country, 
and,  as  we  learn  from  ancient  authors,  Phoeni- 
cians were  often  called  Canaanites.  Thus  the 
gospel  narratives  are  in  perfect  harmony  with 
both  geography  and  history. 

C^SAREA  Phiuppi. — Towards  the  close  of 
his  labors  by  the  lake  our  Lord  made  his  way 
northward,  preaching  the  gospel  till  he  came  to 
*'the  coasts  of  Csesarea  Philippi."  This  city  is 
very  fully  described  by  Josephus  and  is  spoken  of 
by  others,  so  that  it  has  ahvays  been  readily  iden- 
tified. Its  site  is  indicated  by  Greek  inscriptions 
in  the  face  of  the  rock  that  are  not  yet  obliterated 
and  by  the  remains  of  a  fortress  which  stood  there 
at  the  time  of  our  Saviour's  visit.  Its  original 
name  was  Paneas,  and  at  present  it  is  called 
Banias.  Behind  it  rose  the  towering  heights  of 
Hermon,  whither  "he  led  his  disciples  up  into  a 
high  mountain  apart  and  was  transfigured  before 
them."  Descending  thence  he  healed  a  lunatic 
boy,  and  soon  after  returned  again  to  Capernaum, 
which  was  by  the  sea. 

The  Great  Tempests. — In  the  course  of  his 
ministry  Christ  and  his  disciples  had  frequent 
occasion  to  cross  the  lake,  and  twice,  we  read, 


PHYSICAI.  COINCIDENCES.  3I 

tliey  were  overtaken  loy  a  sudden  and  perilous 
storm.  To  sucli  tempests,  in  consequence  of  its 
physical  situation  and  surroundings,  it  has  ever 
been  and  still  is  subject.  This  lake  is  situated  in 
a  deep  depression,  its  surface  being  650  feet  below 
that  of  the  Mediterranean,  and  in  consequence  its 
climate  a  good  part  of  the  year  is  almost  tropical. 
Directly  northeast  and  at  no  great  distance  are  the 
snow-capped  heights  of  Hermon ;  and  in  certain 
atmospheric  conditions  the  cold  and  heavy  air  of 
that  region  sinks  and  rushes  down  through  the 
ravines  to  displace  the  heated  and  light  air  of  the 
lake  basin,  and  in  this  way  are  often  created  sud- 
den and  violent  squalls  upon  its  surface.  Many 
modern  travellers  have  actually  witnessed  its  wa- 
ters thrown  into  just  such  commotion  as  the  evan- 
gelists describe.  "  Small  as  the  I^ake  of  Galilee 
is,  and  placid  in  general  as  a  molten  mirror," 
says  Dr.  Thomson,  "I  have  repeatedly  seen  it 
quiver  and  leap  and  boil  like  a  cauldron  when 
driven  by  fierce  winds  from  the  eastern  moun- 
tains, and  the  waves  ran  high — high  enough  to 
fill  or  '  cover '  the  ships,  as  St.  Matthew  has  it. 
In  the  midst  of  such  a  gale  calmly  slept  the  Sou 
of  God,  in  the  hinder  part  of  the  ship,  until  awa- 
kened by  the  terrified  disciples. ' ' 

We  have  now  seen  that  wherever  the  gospel 
narratives  place  Jesus  during  his  ministry  in  this 


32      NATURAI.  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

peculiar  region,  their  representations  to  tlieir  mi- 
nutest particulars  are  always  in  entire  harmony 
with  what  is  known  and  seen  to  have  been  the 
natural  state  of  things  there.  His  abode  at  Ca^^er- 
iiaum  and  his  visits  to  the  surrounding  cities  and 
villages,  his  teaching  on  the  shores  and  in  the 
synagogues,  his  miracles  in  the  towns  and  in  the 
desert,  his  intercourse  with  fishermen  and  tax- 
gatherers  and  centurions,  the  multitudes  that 
thronged  him  in  the  streets  and  the  storms  that 
overtook  him  on  the  waters,  his  journeys  and  his 
voyages  and  retirements,  are  all  not  only  in  com- 
plete agreement  with  every  physical  feature  of  the 
region,  but  also  stand  so  closely  connected  with 
and  often  so  completely  involved  in  the  conditions 
of  the  localities  as  to  offer  visible  and  convincing 
evidence  in  support  of  the  truth  and  correctness 
of  the  gospel  history. 

PER^a. — The  Saviour's  work  being  accom- 
plished in  Galilee,  he  bade  farewell  to  that  busy 
theatre  of  life  and  set  his  face  towards  Jerusalem. 
Opposed  and  harassed  there  by  his  persistent  and 
malicious  enemies,  the  scribes  and  Pharisees,  he 
left  and  retired  to  Peroea,  or  that  part  of  the  coun- 
try lying  east  of  the  Jordan.  There,  as  in  Galilee, 
he  labored  to  instruct  the  people  and  healed  many 
of  their  sick.  After  the  lapse  of  some  four  months, 
his  time  drawing  nigh,  he  set  out  once  more  and 


PHYSICAL   COINCIDENCES.  2i3 

for  the  last  time  for  Jerusalem.  Some  of  tlie  pla- 
ces and  several  of  the  incidents  connected  with 
this  journey  are  mentioned,  all  of  which  are  found 
to  be  in  perfect  accord  with  what  remains  to  be 
seen  at  this  day. 

Jericho. — Having  crossed  the  Jordan  at  "the 
fords,"  where  it  has  been  crossed  ever  since,  we 
read  that  "he  drew  nigh  unto  Jericho."  This 
city,  of  which  some  faint  ruins  still  remain,  ^vas 
then  a  place  of  wealth  and  grandeur,  and  in  which 
was  que  of  the  princely  residences  of  Herod  the 
Great.  It  lay  exactly  on  the  Saviour's  road  to 
Jerusalem.  At  this  time,  we  are  told,  there  lived 
in  Jericho  one  "  Zacchceus,  who  w^as  the  chief 
among  the  publicans;"  and  here,  as  Josephus  in- 
forms us,  was  "a  colony  of  publicans"  estab- 
lished to  secure  the  revenues  accruing  from  the 
large  traffic  in  balsam,  which  grew  more  luxuri- 
antly in  that  hot  district  than  in  any  other  place, 
and  to  regulate  the  exports  and  imports  between 
the  Roman  province  and  the  dominions  of  Herod 
Antipas.  Anxious  to  catch  a  view  of  Jesus,  who 
was  encompassed  by  a  crowd,  ' '  Zacchseus  ran  be- 
fore and  climbed  up  into  a  sycamore-tree  to  see 
him."  The  balsam  and  also  the  palm  have  utter- 
ly perished  from  this  plain,  but  of  the  sycamore  a 
remnant  still  remains.  "We  were  gratified," 
says  Prof  Tristram,  who  was  there  in  1864,  "by 

Natural  Laws,  -2 


34      NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

the  discovery  that,  though  scarce,  it  is  not  quite 
extinct  in  the  plain  of  Jericho,  as  we  found  two 
aged  trees  in  the  little  ravine  just  to  the  south  of 
these  ruins  in  illustration  of  the  gospel  narra- 
tive." 

The  Ascent  to  Jerusalem. — I^eaving  Jeri- 
cho, "He  went  before,  ascending  up  to  Jerusa- 
lem," and  a  rough  and  continuous  '* ascent"  it 
was  for  some  five  or  six  hours.  The  site  of  Jeri- 
cho is  650  feet  below  the  level  of  the  Mediterra- 
nean, and  the  summit  of  the  Mount  of  Olives  over 
which  he  must  pass  is  2,725  feet  above  that  level; 
hence  the  entire  ascent  in  a  distance  of  14  or  15 
miles  was  no  less  than  3,375  feet. 

Bethany. — Having  passed  through  the  deep 
and  dismal  gorge  of  Wady  Kelt,  along  which  the 
road  led,  and  climbed  at  length  to  the  height  of 
its  rocky  ascent,  "then  came  Jesus  to  Bethany." 
This  village,  according  to  the  sacred  narratives, 
was  on  the  Mount  of  Olives,  on  the  great  thor- 
oughfare from  the  Jordan  valley  to  the  capital,  at 
the  head  of  the  ascent  above  Jericho,  and  at  the 
distance  of  fifteen  furlongs  from  Jerusalem.  And 
precisely  at  this  well-defined  spot  there  has  been 
a  village  through  all  the  Christian  centuries,  and 
there  is  a  little  village  there  still,  which  has  been 
visited  and  identified  by  scores  of  recent  travel- 
lers.    Its  name,  however,  has  been  changed  into 


PHYSICAL  COINCIDENCES.  35 

El  A2;ariyeli,  in  commemoration  of  Lazarus,  whom 
the  Lord  here  called  forth  from  his  tomb. 

Mount  of  OuvKS. — This  lies  immediately 
east  of  Jerusalem,  and  there  has  never  existed  a 
doubt  concerning  its  identity.  At  Bethany,  on 
the  eastern  side  of  its  summit,  Jesus  tarried  on 
this  occasion  over  one  night,  and  in  the  morning, 
attended  by  a  great  multitude,  he  set  out  for  the 
holy  city.  The  distance  was  only  two  short 
miles,  and  his  way  lay  over  the  heights  of  Olivet 
and  round  its  southern  shoulder.  "  When  he  was 
come  to  the  descent  of  the  Mount  of  Olives  "  the 
whole  multitude,  we  are  told,  began  to  rejoice  and 
shout,  ' '  Blessed  be  the  King  that  cometh  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord!"  And  it  was  at  this  precise 
point  on  the  road  that  the  first  glimpse  vras  caught 
of  the  southeastern  corner  of  the  city — -just  the 
sight  which  would  naturally  inspire  the  people  to 
this,  joyous  and  triumphant  exclamation. 

*'From  this  point,"  says  Dean  Stanley,  who 
carefully  surveyed  and  studied  the  whole  ground, 
*'the  road  descends  a  slight  declivity,  and  the 
glimpse  of  the  city  is  again  withdrawn  behind 
the  intervening  ridge.  A  few  moments  and  the 
path  mounts;  again  it  climbs  a  rugged  ascent,  it 
reaches  a  ledge  of  smooth  rock,  and  in  an  instant 
the  whole  city  bursts  into  view.  The  temple 
tower  rises  as  from  the  earth,  the  temple  courts 


36      NATURAL  LAWS  AND   GOSPKIv  TEACHINGS. 

spread  out,  and  the  whole  magnificent  city,  with 
its  background  of  gardens  and  suburbs  on  the 
western  plateau  behind,  lies  before  the  view.  It 
is  hardly  possible  to  doubt  that  this  rise  and  turn 
of  the  road,  this  rocky  ledge,  was  the  exact  spot 
where  the  multitude  paused  again,  and  '  He, 
when  he  beheld  the  city,  wept  over  it. '  Nowhere 
else  on  the  Mount  of  Olives  is  there  a  view  like 
this.  And  this  is  almost  the  only  unmarked 
spot — undefiled  or  unhallowed  by  mosque  or 
church,  chapel  or  tower — left  to  speak  for  itself 
that  here  the  Lord's  feet  stood  and  here  his  eyes 
beheld  what  is  still  the  most  impressive  view 
which  the  neighborhood  of  Jerusalem  furnishes — 
and  the  tears  rushed  forth  at  the  sight." 

KiDRON. — Again  the  procession  advanced,  and 
descending  from  this  brow  of  Olivet,  Christ,  with 
the  exultant  multitude  around  him,  in  a  few  min- 
utes reached  "the  brook  Kidron,"  crossed  it,  and 
then  passed  up  into  Jerusalem  through  one  of  its 
eastern  gates.  The  road  still  follows  that  shel- 
ving descent,  and  still  that  channel  of  Kidron, 
generally  dry,  must  be  crossed  to  reach  and  enter 
the  city. 

GethsEmanK. — While  at  Jerusalem  our  Lord, 
we  read,  often  left  the  noise  and  excitement  of 
the  city  and  sought  rest  and  retirement  in  "  the 
Garden  of  Gethsemane."     He  did  so  on  the  very 


PHYSICAI.   COINCIDENCES.  37 

last  evening  of  his  life.  "When  Jesus  had  spo- 
ken these  words  he  went  forth  over  the  brook 
Kidron,  where  was  a  garden,  into  the  which  he  en- 
tered and  his  disciples. ' '  There,  in  the  midnight 
watch,  he  offered  prayer  "with  strong  crying  and 
tears."  There  he  sweat  "as  it  were  great  drops 
of  blood  falling  down  to  the  ground."  And  there 
too  it  was  that  his  perfidious  disciple  betrayed 
him  into  the  hands  of  his  enemies;  "for  Judas 
knew  the  place,  as  Jesus  ofttimes  resorted  thither 
with  his  disciples."  Now  the  gospel  narratives 
point  to  the  Garden  of  Gethsemane  as  lying  east  of 
Jerusalem,  a  short  distance  from  the  city  wall,  on 
the  other  side  of  Kidron,  and  at  the  foot  of  the 
Mount  of  Olives.  And  just  here  we  find  a  spot^ 
now  marked  by  eight  aged  olive-trees,  which,  from 
the  middle  of  the  fourth  century  at  least,  has  been 
uniformly  pointed  out  and  looked  upon  as  the 
very  site  of  the  "garden"  in  which  the  Saviour 
of  the  world  endured  his  mortal  agon3\  After  the 
most  careful  study  of  the  Gospels  and  examina- 
tion of  the  place,  this  spot  is  found  to  fulfil  all 
the  conditions  of  these  narratives.  Tischendorf, 
the  distinguished  Biblical  scholar  of  Germany, 
tells  us  that  he  finds  this  traditional  locality  "in 
perfect  harmony  with  all  that  we  learn  from  the 
evangelists."  And  Prof.  Hackett  says,  "We 
may  sit  down   there  and  read  the  narrative  of 


38      NATURAIv  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

what  the  Saviour  endured  for  our  redemption,  and 
feel  assured  that  we  are  near  the  place  where  he 
prayed,  'saying,  Father,  not  my  will,  but  thine, 
be  done. '  " 

We  have  now  followed  the  footsteps  of  the 
Saviour  from  the  beginning  to  the  close  of  his 
eventful  life;  we  have  visited  and  contemplated 
the  place  of  his  nativity,  the  refuge  of  his  infancy, 
the  home  of  his  childhood  and  youth,  the  place 
of  his  baptism  and  of  his  temptation,  the  scene  of 
his  ministry  in  Galilee,  his  visitations  to  surround- 
ing cities,  his  retirement  to  the  region  beyond 
Jordan,  the  road  he  travelled  and  the  localities 
through  which  he  passed  on  his  last  return  to  Je- 
rusalem to  be  offered  up  a  sacrifice  for  the  sin  of 
the  world;  and  in  all  these  different  and  widely 
separated  scenes  we  have  found  the  most  complete 
agreement,  in  every  particular  instance,  between 
the  statements  and  allusions  of  the  Gospels  and 
what  may  be  seen  and  examined  at  the  present 
day;  and  not  only  this,  but  also  that  the  deeds 
and  discourses  ascribed  to  the  Saviour  are  closely 
related  to  the  very  localities  where  they  are  said 
to  have  taken  place,  and  could  not  have  transpired 
anywhere  else  or  among  any  other  people  or  in 
any  other  age.  And  in  all  this  we  have  clear  and 
convincing  evidence  that  in  the  four  Gospels  we 
have  a  correct  narrative  of  the  movements  and 


PIIYSICAI.   COINCIDKNCKS.  39 

doings  of  a  true  and  living  man,  who  sjookc  and 
acted  and  travelled  as  related  in  them. 

II.    COINCIDENCE   AS   TO  VKO^TATION. 

The  teachings  of  Jesus  Christ  as  related  in  the 
Gospels  abound  in  parables,  figures,  and  similes 
drawn  from  the  soil,  and  scenery,  the  natural  pro- 
ductions and  living  tenants,  of  the  country  in 
which  he  taught.  And  concerning  these  Dr.  W. 
M.  Thomson,  who  resided  in  Palestine  for  a  quar- 
ter of  a  century,  makes  this  general  statement: 
' '  All  the  parables  and  illustrations  and  compari- 
sons of  Jesus  are  perfectly  natural  and  appropriate 
to  the  country,  the  people,  the  age,  and  every  oth- 
er circumstance  mentioned  or  implied  in  the  evan- 
gelical narratives.  We  have  the  originals  still  be- 
fore us.  The  teachings  and  illustrations  of  our 
Lord  would  have  been  out  of  place  in  any  other 
country  except  this.  They  could  not  have  been 
uttered  anywhere  else. ' '  An  examination  of  par- 
ticulars fully  sustains  this  statement,  as  we  shall 
now  see. 

lyiLiES  OF  THE  Field.— Modern  travellers 
have  often  noticed  the  beauty  and  abundance  of 
spring  flowers  in  Palestine.  And  it  was  at  this 
season  of  the  year  that  our  Saviour  in  his  Sermon 
on  the  Mount  referred  to  the  ''lilies."  Variega- 
ted tulips,   purple  and  red  gladioli,   and  scarlet 


40     NATURAT.  I.AWS  AND  GOSPFJ.  Tl^ACIIINGS. 

anemones  (to  which  the  common  name  sJmsan^ 
"lilies,"  was  applied)  abouneled  on  the  plain  of 
Gennesaret  and  covered  the  hillsides  around  the 
great  Teacher  and  his  listening  throng.  Plence 
we  see  how  natural  it  was  for  him  to  point  to 
these  and  say,  "Consider  the  lilies  of  the  field, 
how  they  grow;  they  toil  not,  neither  do  they 
spin;  and  yet  I  say  unto  you  that  even  Solomon 
in  all  his  glory  was  not  arrayed  like  one  of  these.'' 
Wheat. — The  first  recorded  parable  of  our 
Ivord  is  that  of  the  "sower,"  every  word  of  which 
is  in  perfect  agreement  with  what  may  be  seen  in 
the  land  to-day.  "As  I  rode  along  the  track  un- 
der the  hillside  by  which  the  plain  of  Gennesaret 
is  approached,"  says  Dean  Stanley,  "a  slight  re- 
cess in  the  hill,  close  upon  the  plain,  disclosed  at 
once  in  detail  every  feature  of  the  great  parable. 
There  was  the  undulating  corn-field  descending  to 
the  water's  edge.  There  was  the  ^trodden  path- 
way' running  through  the  midst  of  it,  with  no 
hedge  or  fence  to  prevent  the  seed  from  falling 
here  and  there  on  either  side  of  it  or  upon  it,  itself 
hard  from  the  constant  tramp  of  horse  and  mule 
and  human  feet.  There  was  the  '  good  rich  soil ' 
which  distinguishes  the  whole  of  that  plain  and 
its  neitjhborhood  from  the  bare  hills  elsewhere  de- 
scending  into  the  lake,  and  which,  where  there  is 
no  interruption,  produces  one  vast  mass  of  corn. 


PIIYSICAT.  COINCIDENCES.  41 

There  was  the  'rocky  ground'  of  the  hillside 
here  and  there  protruding  through  the  corn-fields 
as  elsewhere  through  the  grassy  slopes.  There 
w^ere  the  large  bushes  of  '  thorns  '  springing  up  in 
the  very  midst  of  the  waving  wheat.  The  illus- 
tration was  complete." 

Nor  is  the  above  to  be  regarded  as  a  solitary 
coincidence;  the  same  has  often  been  observed  in 
other  parts.  Travelling  along  the  northern  bor- 
ders of  Galilee,  Dr.  Thomson  makes  this  observa- 
tion: "Our  path  is  leading  us  into  the  midst  of  a 
very  lively  agricultural  scene.  The  parable  about 
sowing  has  here  its  illustration  even  in  its  mi- 
nutest details.  '  Behold,  a  sower  went  forth  to 
sow.'  There  is  a  nice  and  close  adherence  to 
actual  life  in  this  form  of  expression.  The  words 
imply  that  the  sower,  in  the  days  of  our  Saviour, 
lived  in  a  hamlet,  and  these  people  have  actually 
come  forth  all  the  way  from  yonder  village  to  the 
open  country.  Here  there  are  no  fences;  the  path 
passes  through  the  cultivated  land;  the  thorns 
grow  in  clumps  all  around ;  the  rocks  peep  out  in 
places  through  the  scanty  soil ;  and  hard  by  are 
also  patches  extremely  fertile.  Now,  here  we 
have  all  the  four  kinds  of  earth  within  a  dozen 
rods  of  us.  Our  horses  are  actually  trampling 
down  some  seeds  which  have  fallen  by  this  way- 
side, and  larks  and  sparrows   are  busy  picking 


42     NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

them  up.  That  man  with  his  mattock  is  digging 
about  the  places  where  the  rock  is  too  near  the  sur- 
face for  the  plough,  and  much  that  is  sown  there 
will  wither  away  because  it  has  no  deepness  of 
earth.  And  not  a  few  seeds  have  fallen  among 
this  bellan^  and  will  be  effectually  choked  by  this 
most  tangled  of  thorn-bushes.  But  a  large  por- 
tion, after  all,  falls  into  really  good  ground,  and 
four  months  hence  will  exhibit  every  variety  of 
crop  up  to  the  richest  and  heaviest  that  ever  re- 
joices the  heart  even  of  an  American  fanner. 
Certainly  nothing  could  be  more  to  the  point  than 
this  illustration.  We  doubtless  are  now  looking 
upon  the  very  facts  which  suggested  to  Him  who 
taught  in  parables  the  instructive  lesson  of  the 
sower.'* 

Tares. — The  parable  of  the  tares  among  the 
wheat  is  equally  true  to  nature.  This  sets  forth 
three  natural  facts,  all  of  which  are  verified  by 
observation,  i.  That  the  soil  of  Palestine  pro- 
duces zizania^  or  tares.  For  this  we  have  the  tes- 
timony of  unnumbered  travellers.  Tares  abound 
in  that  country  and  are  a  great  nuisance  to  the 
farmers  at  the  present  day.  2.  That  they  are  in- 
jurious and  therefore  to  be  carefully  weeded  out. 
The  taste  is  bitter,  and  when  eaten  separately  or 
even  diffused  in  ordinary  bread  they  cause  dizzi- 
ness and  often  act  as  a  violent  emetic.    It  becomes 


PHYSICAL   COINCIDENCES.  43 

necessary,  therefore,  as  implied  in  the  parable,  to 
separate  them  carefully  from  the  wheat  or  barley 
where  they  are  found.  3.  That  in  the  earlier 
stage  of  their  growth  they  cannot  easily  be  dis- 
tinguished from  the  growing  grain  in  the  midst 
of  which  they  are  found ;  but  in  the  latter  stage 
the  difference  becomes  apparent.  ' '  Let  me  call 
your  attention  to  these  tares,"  says  Dr.  Thomson, 
* '  which  are  growing  among  the  barley.  The 
grain  is  just  in  the  proper  stage  of  development 
to  illustrate  the  parable.  In  those  parts  where 
the  grain  has  headed  out  the  tares  have  done  the 
same,  and  there  a  child  cannot  mistake  them  for 
wheat  or  barley;  but  where  both  are  less  devel- 
oped the  closest  scrutiny  will  often  fail  to  detect 
them.  'When  the  blade  was  sprung  up  and 
brought  forth  fruit,  then  appeared  the  tares  also.' 
Even  the  farmers,  who  in  this  country  generally 
weed  their  fields,  do  not  attempt  to  separate  the 
one  from  the  other  in  the  early  stage  of  their 
growth.  They  would  not  only  mistake  good 
grain  for  them,  but  very  commonly  the  roots  of 
the  two  are  so  intertwined  that  it  is  impossible  to 
separate  them  without  plucking  up  both.  For 
this  reason  it  is  said,  '  I^et  both  grow  together  un- 
til the  time  of  harvest.'  "  Dean  Stanley,  Capt. 
Wilson,  and  other  travellers  relate  that  they  saw 
women  and  children  busily  engaged  in  picking 


44     NATURAI,  I,AWS  AND  GOSPKI.  TEACHINGS. 

out  the  tares  from  the  wheat  in  the  grain-fields  of 
Samaria  and  other  parts.  So  true  both  to  nature 
and  the  practice  of  the  ]3eople  is  this  instructive 
parable. 

Mustard  Plant.— Several  references  to  this 
plant  are  made  in  the  Gospels,  and  one  express 
parable  is  based  upon  it,  in  which  also  are  three 
natural  facts  introduced,  i.  The  si^e  of  the  seed: 
*'the  least  of  all  seeds."  It  is  a  small  seed,  but 
not  "the  least  of  seeds;"  the  words  are  hyper- 
bolical. "  Small  as  a  grain  of  mustard  seed"  was 
and  still  is  a  familiar  and  proverbial  expression 
among  Orientals,  and  our  lyord  in  popular  teach- 
ing adhered  to  popular  language.  2.  The  size  of 
the  plant:  "when  it  is  grown  it  is  the  greatest 
among  herbs  and  becometh  a  tree. '  *  In  compar- 
ison with  other  garden  growths  it  is  said  to  be- 
come a  "tree;"  at  the  same  time  it  is  expressly- 
stated  to  be  an  "herb."  In  Palestine  it  attains 
the  form  and  size  of  a  small  tree.  Travellers  have 
met  with  it  in  several  parts  of  the  country  as  high 
as  their  heads  on  horseback.  Prof.  Hackett  came 
across  a  little  forest  of  these  trees  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Mt.  Carmel  which  measured  from  seven 
to  nine  feet  in  height.  3.  It  is  said  to  be  a  favor- 
ite resort  of  birds:  "so  that  the  birds  of  the  air 
come  and  lodge  in  the  branches  thereof."  We 
are  informed  by  numerous  authorities  that  birds 


PHYSICAL  COINCIDENCES.  45 

are  particularly  fond  of  the  seed  and  may  often 
be  seen  settling  in  great  numbers  on  the  branches. 
Hence  we  see  that  the  parable  of  the  mustard- 
seed,  while  it  adheres  closely  to  nature,  is  at  the 
same  time  an  a|)t  and  forcible  representation  of 
the  growth  of  the  Christian  religion  from  its  small 
beo:inninQ:. 

The  Vine. — Frequent  mention  is  made  of  the 
vine  in  the  course  of  the  gospel  narratives.  And 
Prof.  Tristram,  in  his  natural  history,  says,  "Pal- 
estine is  the  true  climate  of  the  vine.  The  rocky 
hillsides,  with  their  light  gravelly  soil  and  sunny 
exposures,  the  heat  of  summer,  and  the  rapid 
drainage  of  the  winter  rains,  all  combine  to  render 
it  peculiarly  a  land  of  vines.  The  hill  country 
presents  in  combination  all  the  features  character- 
istic of  the  choicest  wine  districts  of  the  Rhine,  of 
France  and  Spain;  and  not  only  Judah,  but  all 
the  land  from  Lebanon  to  Beersheba,  was  once 
clad  on  every  hill  with  terraced  vineyards,  which 
have  left  behind  them  the  traces  of  their  existence 
in  the  wine-presses  and  vats  hewn  in  the  rocks." 

The  vineyard  supplies  the  groundwork  of  an- 
other of  our  Lord's  parables:  "There  was  a  cer- 
tain householder  who  planted  a  vineyard  and 
hedged  it  round  about  and  digged  a  wine-press  in 
it  and  built  a  tower  and  let  it  out  to  husband- 
men."    One  of  the  most  striking  features  in  the 


46      NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

scenery  of  Southern  Palestine  at  the  present  time 
is  the  vineyard  inclosure  surrounded  by  loose 
stone  walls  with  a  gray,  square  tower  in  one  cor- 
ner. ''These  may  be  seen  to-day,"  says  Dean 
Stanley,  "as  of  old,  on  the  slopes  of  Hebron,  of 
Bethlehem,  and  of  Olivet." 

Fig-tree. — This  is  one  of  the  native  fruit- 
trees  of  Palestine  and  is  found  wild  or  culti- 
vated in  every  part  of  it.  It  is  mentioned  in  the 
Gospels  in  different  connections.  Under  the  shade 
of  a  fig-tree  Nathanael  sought  seclusion,  probably 
for  prayer,  and  thought  he  was  screened  from  all 
human  observation,  when  the  Saviour  said  to  him, 
"When  thou  wast  under  the  fig-tree  I  saw  thee." 
And  Tristram  says, ' '  There  is  no  protection  against 
the  rays  of  an  Eastern  sun  more  complete  than  the 
dense  foliage  of  the  fig-tree." 

Our  Lord  speaks  of  "  a  fig-tree  planted  in  a 
vineyard"  which  proved  fruitless,  and  reads  from 
it  one  of  his  most  interesting  and  instructive  par- 
ables. And  travellers  tell  us  that  nothing  is  more 
common  in  Palestine  to  this  day  than  fig-trees 
and  other  fruit-trees  planted  among  vines.  "In 
some  parts,"  says  Tristram,  "the  fig-tree  is  cul- 
tivated as  a  sole  crop,  but  more  frequently  it  is 
mingled  with  other  orchard  fruits,  especially  with 
the  vines,  where  the  corners  and  irregular  pieces 
of  ground  are  generally  occupied  by  a  fig-tree." 


PHYSICAL  COINCIDENCES.  47 

On  a  certain  occasion  we  read  that  the  Saviour 
on  his  way  from  Bethany  "saw  a  fig-tree  in  the 
way  and  came  to  it  and  found  thereon  nothing 
but  leaves."  And  Dean  Stanley,  passing  over 
the  same  route,  says,  "The  fig-tree  still  remains 
here  and  there  on  the  roadside.'^  Figs  appear 
before  the  leaves. 

Palm-trees. — In  the  early  ages  palm-trees 
were  plentiful  in  many  parts  of  Palestine.  The 
Mount  of  Olives  continued  to  be  graced  by  them 
to  the  time  of  our  Saviour,  for  on  his  last  and  tri- 
umphant entry  into  Jerusalem  we  read  that  "the 
people  took  branches  of  palms  and  went  forth  to 
meet  him."  On  the  mount  itself  they  have  now 
died  out,  but  several  fine  ancient  trees  still  wave 
close  by  among  the  buildings  of  the  city. 

Sycamore. — This  tree  is  repeatedly  mentioned 
in  the  Gospels.  It  is  not  to  be  confounded  with 
our  commonly  called  sycamore,  or  plane-tree, 
which  resembles  it  only  in  the  shape  of  its  leaves. 
The  sycamore  of  the  New  Testament  is  an  ever- 
green and  bears  a  species  of  figs.  It  is  still  found 
in  the  mild  climate  of  the  maritime  plains  of 
Phoenicia  and  Sharon,  and  also  in  the  hot  Jordan 
valley.  "In  form,"  says  Tristram,  "it  resembles 
the  English  oak,  with  low  spreading  branches 
and  dark  foliage.  It  is  very  easy  to  climb,  with 
its  short  trunk  and  its  wide  lateral  branches  fork- 


48      NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TKACIIINGS. 

ing  out  in  all  directions,  and  would  naturally  be 
selected  by  Zaccliseus  as  the  most  accessible  posi- 
tion from  which  to  obtain  a  view  of  our  Lord  as 
he  passed.  There  are  still  a  few  gnarled  and 
aged  sycamores  among  the  ruins  by  the  wayside 
of  ancient  Jericho  and  by  the  channel  of  the  Wady 
Kelt." 

Thus  we  see  that  all  the  statements  made  by 
the  evangelists  concerning  the  vegetable  produc- 
tions of  the  land  in  connection  with  our  Lord's 
ministry  are  perfectly  natural  and  in  complete 
asfreement  with  what  the  traveller  finds  there  at 
the  present  day.  Not  a  tree  or  a  shrub  or  a  flow- 
er or  a  blade  stands  in  disharmony  with  their  nar- 
ratives. On  the  contrary,  so  far  as  these  can  bear 
witness  at  all,  they  attest  their  correctness  and 
truth  in  every  particular  and  on  all  occasions. 

III.    COINCIDENCE  AS  TO  LIVING  CREATURES. 

Many  of  the  illustrations  and  parables  em- 
ployed by  the  Saviour  in  teaching  the  people 
were  drawn  from  the  character  and  habits  of  the 
animals  inhabiting  the  country,  animals  with 
which  they  were  all  familiar.  And  the  living 
descendants  of  those  animals  stand  forth  to-day  as 
so  many  witnesses  for  the  accuracy  and  fidelity  of 
the  four  gospel  histories. 

Fishes. — From  the  earliest  times  the  Sea  of 


PHYSICAL   COINCIDENCES.  49 

Galilee  was  celebrated  for  its  fisheries;  and  sev- 
eral of  our  Lord's  disciples  were  fishermen,  who 
pursued  their  vocation  on  that  lake.  The  nar- 
ratives of  the  evangelists  represent  this  sea  as 
abounding  in  fish  of  various  kinds.  Thus  we 
read:  "When  they  had  let  down  the  net  they  in- 
closed a  great  multitude  of  fishes,  and  their  net 
brake."  On  another  occasion  it  is  said,  '^They 
cast  the  net  on  the  right  side  of  the  ship,  and  now 
they  were  not  able  to  draw  it  for  the  multitude  of 
fishes."  This  lake  still  abounds  in  a  great  variety 
of  fishes.  Prof.  Tristram,  who  speaks  from  long 
and  personal  observation,  says,  ' '  The  density  of 
the  shoals  of  fish  in  the  Sea  of  Galilee  can  scarcely 
be  conceived  by  those  who  have  not  witnessed 
them.  Frequently  these  shoals  cover  an  acre  or 
more  of  surface,  and  the  fish,  as  they  slowly  move 
along  in  masses,  are  so  crowded,  with  their  back 
fins  just  appearing  on  the  level  of  the  water, 
that  the  appearance  at  a  little  distance  is  that 
of  a  violent  shower  of  rain  pattering  on  the  sur- 
face. '  * 

Our  Lord  grounds  a  parable  on  the  various 
*' kinds"  of  fishes  drawn  up  from  these  waters: 
"The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  net  that 
was  cast  into  the  sea  and  gathered  of  every  kind, 
which,  when  it  was  full,  they  drew  to  shore  and 
sat  down  and  gathered  the  good  into  vessels,  but 

Natural  Laws.  A 


50      NATURAI.  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

cast  the  bad  away. ' '  A  great  variety  of  fishes, 
*' clean  and  unclean,"  are  still  found  in  this  lake, 
and  the  same  operation  of  sorting  may  still  be 
witnessed  going  on  on  its  shore;  and  in  proof  we 
again  quote  Mr.  Tristram :  ' '  We  obtained  four- 
teen species  from  this  lake,  and  probably  the  num- 
ber inhabiting  it  is  three  times  as  great.  The 
greater  number  taken  are  rejected  by  the  fisher- 
men, and  I  have  sat  with  them  on  the  gunwale 
while  they  went  through  their  net  and  threw  out 
into  the  sea  those  that  were  too  small  for  the 
market  or  were  considered  unclean.  This  custom 
brings  out  in  great  force  the  full  bearing  of  the 
parable,  which  is  scarcely  illustrated  by  any  inci- 
dent in  our  English  fisheries. ' ' 

Scorpions. — These  venomous  creatures  are 
spoken  of  by  Christ  as  objects  that  were  familiar 
to  his  disciples:  "Will  he  for  an  egg  offer  him  a 
scorpion?"  "I  give  you  power  to  tread  on  ser- 
pents and  scorpions."  And,  according  to  both 
Thomson  and  Tristram,  they  swarm  in  every  part 
of  Palestine,  and  the  latter  says  that  "in  the 
warmer  parts  of  the  country  every  third  stone  is 
sure  to  conceal  one." 

Sparrows. — Among  the  Jews  these  little  birds 
were  used  as  a  common  article  of  food,  as  they  are 
still  in  the  Bast;  and  our  Saviour  speaks  of  them 
as  being  so  abundant  and  so  easily  taken  that  two 


PHYSICAI.  COINCIDKNCKS.  51 

of  tliem  were  sold  '*  for  a  farthing.''  And  in  few 
countries  of  the  world  to-day  are  sparrows  more 
numerous  than  in  Palestine.  **The  trees  and  even 
the  shrubs,"  says  Dr.  Thomson,  "are  stuffed  full 
of  their  nests." 

Ravens. — Our  Lord  cites  the  raven  as  man- 
ifesting the  providential  care  of  God :  ' '  Consider 
the  ravens:  for  they  neither  sow  nor  reap,  which 
neither  have  storehouse  nor  barn,  and  God  feed- 
eth  them.  How  much  more  are  ye  better  than 
the  fowls  !"  Of  the  ravens  in  Palestine  Prof. 
Tristram  says,  ' '  They  are  present  everywhere  to 
the  eye  and  ear,  and  the  odors  that  float  around 
remind  us  of  their  use.  Their  food  is  scanty  and 
precarious,  as  may  be  seen  by  their  habit  of  flying 
restlessly  about  in  constant  search  for  it."  And 
yet  "God  feedeth  them." 

Eagles. — Eagles  and  vultures  of  various  spe- 
cies have  always  been  and  still  are  numerous  in 
Palestine,  particularly  the  griffons.  These  are 
employed  by  our  Lord  to  indicate  the  rapid  gath- 
ering and  descent  of  the  Roman  armies  upon  the 
corrupt  body  of  the  Jewish  nation:  "Wheresoever 
the  carcass  is,  there  will  the  eagles  be  gathered 
together."  No  figure  could  be  more  true  to  na- 
ture or  more  forcibly  express  the  event  than  this. 
The  distinguished  naturalist  just  quoted,  in  his 
description  of  these  raptorial  birds,  says,  "The 


53       NATURAI.  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

number  of  griffons  in  every  part  of  Palestine  is 
amazing,  and  they  are  found  at  all  seasons  of  the 
year.  These  birds  detect  their  food  by  sight,  not 
by  scent.  If  an  animal  falls  at  night,  it  is  not 
attacked  till  daylight,  but  if  it  fall  or  be  slaugh- 
tered after  sunrise,  though  the  human  eye  may 
scan  the  firmament  for  one  in  vain,  within  five 
minutes  a  speck  will  appear  overhead  and,  wheel- 
ing and  circling  in  a  rapid  downward  flight,  a 
huge  griffon  will  pounce  on  the  carcass.  In  a  few 
minutes  a  second  and  a  third  will  dart  down;  an- 
other and  another  follow,  till  the  air  is  darkened 
by  the  crowd,  thus  verifying  the  words,  '  Where- 
soever the  carcass  is,  there  will  the  eagles  be 
gathered  together.'  " 

Doves, — The  dove  is  notably  a  gentle  and  in- 
nocent bird.  Our  Lord  refers  to  it  as  a  type  of 
what  the  Christian's  character  should  be:  ^'Be  ye 
wise  as  serpents  and  harmless  as  doves."  For 
the  same  reasons  it  is  employed  as  an  emblem  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  ''descending  like  a  dove."  At 
this  day  in  Syria,  as  travellers  inform  us,  the  dove 
is  the  invariable  companion  of  man  wherever  he 
has  a  settled  habitation.  "When  travelling  in 
the  north  of  Syria,"  says  Dr.  Thomson,  "I  no- 
ticed in  the  villages  tall,  square  buildings  without 
roofs,  whose  walls  were  pierced  inside  by  num- 
berless pigeon-holes ;   in  these  nestled  and  bred 


PIIYSICAI.   C0INCIDENCE:S.  53 

thousands  of  these  birds.  They  are  reared  by  the 
rich  and  the  poor. ' ' 

The:  Hkn. — This  fowl,  as  we  learn  from  rab- 
binical and  other  sources,  was  intimately  con- 
nected with  the  Jewish  household,  and  her  natural 
habits,  therefore,  were  familiar  to  all.  One  of  the 
most  remarkable  of  her  actions  is  the  peculiar 
note  she  utters  to  bid  her  chickens  run  and  hide 
under  her  wings  at  the  sight  of  a  bird  of  prey. 
Hence  we  see  how  natural  and  how  touching  the 
figure  which  Jesus  employs  to  express  his  tender 
anxiety  to  save  Jerusalem  from  the  swoop  of  the 
Roman  eagle:  "O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  how 
often  would  I  have  gathered  thy  children  together, 
even  as  a  hen  gathereth  her  chickens  under  her 
wings,  and  ye  would  not  P ' 

To  the  hen  the  cock  is  nearly  related,  whose 
crowinof  is  mentioned  more  than  once  in  the 
Gospels :  "  Before  the  cock  crow  twice  thou 
shalt  deny  me  thrice."  The  times  of  crowing 
WTre  reofarded  as  correct  indications  of  the  hour 
of  night.  The  regularity  with  which  this  fowl 
crows  during  the  night  in  the  Bast  has  been  no- 
ticed by  many  travellers.  Arundell  says,  ''I  have 
often  heard  the  cocks  of  Smyrna  crowing  in  full 
chorus,  with  scarcely  the  variation  of  a  minute. '^ 
And  Tristram:  "We  were  particularly  struck  by 
this  in  Beirut,  where,  during  the  first  week  of 


54       NATURAI,  I^AWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

our  stay,  we  were  regularly  awakened  three  times 
every  night  by  the  sudden  crowing  of  the  cocks 
on  the  roof  of  the  hotel." 

Sheep. — The  principal  characteristics  of  Pal- 
estine sheep  are  set  forth  in  the  following  passage: 
*'  He  that  entercth  in  by  the  door  is  the  shepherd 
of  the  sheep;  the  sheep  hear  his  voice;  and  he 
calleth  his  own  sheep  by  name  and  leadeth  them 
out.  And  when  he  putteth  forth  his  own  sheep 
he  goetli  before  them  and  the  sheep  follow  him, 
for  they  know  his  voice.  -And  a  stranger  will 
they  not  follow,  but  will  flee  from  him,  for  they 
know  not  the  voice  of  strangers."  All  this  is 
natural  and  true  to  the  letter,  as  may  be  seen  in 
that  country  to-day.  "The  Eastern  shepherd," 
says  Tristram,  ''never  drives,  but  always  leads 
his  sheep."  Hartley,  in  his  ''Researches,"  re- 
lates this  incident:  "  Passing  by  a  flock  of  sheep, 
I  asked  the  shepherd  if  it  was  usual  to  give  names 
to  sheep.  He  replied  that  it  was.  I  then  bade 
him  call  one  of  his  sheep.  He  did  so,  and  it  in- 
stantly left  its  pasturage  and  companions  and  ran 
up  to  his  hand  with  signs  of  pleasure."  And  Dr. 
Thomson,  in  his  "  I^and  and  Book,"  has  this  pas- 
sage: "  It  is  necessary  the  sheep  should  be  taught 
to  follow  and  not  to  stray  away  into  the  un fenced 
fields  of  corn  which  lie  so  temptingly  on  either 
side.     Any  one  that  thus  wanders  is  sure  to  get 


PHYSICAI.  COINCIDENCES.  55 

into  trouble.  The  shepherd  calls  sharply  from 
time  to  time  to  remind  them  of  his  presence. 
They  know  his  voice  and  follow  on;  but  if  a 
stranger  call,  they  stop  short,  lift  up  their  heads 
in  alarm,  and  if  it  is  repeated,  they  turn  and  flee, 
because  they  know  not  the  voice  of  a  stranger. 
This  is  not  the  fanciful  costume  of  a  parable;  it  is 
simple  fact.  I  have  made  the  experiment  repeat- 
edly.'» 

Goats. — In  his  discourse  portraying  the  final 
judgment  our  Lord  represents  goats  and  sheep  as 
forming  one  mixed  flock:  "He  shall  separate 
them  one  from  another,  as  a  shepherd  divideth 
his  sheep  from  the  goats."  Goats  are  still  plenti- 
ful in  Palestine,  and  concerning  them  Tristram 
has  this  passage:  "The  hilly  district  running  up 
through  the  centre  of  Western  Palestine  is  well 
adapted  for  goats,  and  in  this  country  the  sheep 
and  goats  are  always  seen  together  under  the  same 
shepherd  and  in  company." 

Wolves. — The  name  of  these  animals  occurs 
in  several  of  the  Saviour's  discourses,  but  always 
with  reference  to  their  fierce  and  treacherous  char- 
acter. "Wolves  in  sheep's  clothing."  "I  send  you 
forth  as  lambs  among  wolves."  "An  hireling, 
whose  own  the  sheep  are  not,  seeth  the  wolf  com- 
ing and  leaveth  the  sheep  and  fleeth;  and  the  wolf 
catchetli  them  and  scattereth  the  sheep."   Wolves 


56      NATURAI.  I.AWS  AND  GOSPEI.  TEACHINGS. 

Still  inhabit  Palestine  and  still  exhibit  the  same 
character.  Prof.  Tristram,  in  his  explorations  of 
the  country,  repeatedly  met  with  them  and  relates 
two  encounters  with  them.  "In  the  hill  country 
of  Benjamin,  about  Bethel  and  Gibeah,"  he  says, 
"the  wolves  still  raven.  We  found  them  alike  in 
the  forests  of  Bashan  and  Gilead,  in  the  ravines 
of  Galilee  and  Lebanon,  and  in  the  maritime 
plains.  Their  boldness  is  very  remarkable.  The 
wolf  is  now,  as  of  old,  the  dread  of  the  shepherds 
of  Palestine." 

The  Ass. — The  most  notable  mention  of  this 
animal  in  the  gospel  narratives  is  that  in  connec- 
tion with  our  Lord's  triumphant  entry  into  Jeru- 
salem: "And  Jesus,  when  he  had  found  a  young 
ass,  sat  thereon."  This  patient  creature  is  to  be 
seen  everyv/here  in  Palestine,  performing  the 
same  service  at  the  present  day.  "In  the  Bast," 
says  Prof.  J.  G.  Wood,  "the  ass  is  the  universal 
saddle-animal.  It  is  fed  and  groomed  like  the 
horse,  and  is  ridden  by  persons  of  the  highest 
rank." 

Thus  we  see  that  all  the  animals  named  or  re- 
ferred to  in  the  Gospels  still  inhabit  the  land,  and 
not  only  that,  but  also  exhibit  the  same  traits  of 
character  and  habits  as  are  there  ascribed  to  them. 
As  with  the  topography  and  vegetation  of  the 
country,  so  with  its  living  tenants,  there  is  the 


PHYSICAL  COINCIDKNCES.  57 

most  complete  correspondence  between  what  is 
presented  on  the  gospel  page  and  what  is  seen  on 
the  face  of  nature  at  the  present  time.  There  to- 
day we  behold  unmistakably  the  originals  of  the 
Saviour's  parables  and  illustrations.  Fish  and 
fowl  and  beast  stand  forth  before  us  as  so  many 
living  witnesses,  so  far  as  they  are  concerned,  for 
the  correctness  and  truth  of  wdiat  the  evangelists 
relate.  The  testimony  could  not  be  more  indis- 
putable, the  harmony  could  not  be  more  com- 
plete, and  the  lessons  could  not  be  more  natural 
or  appropriate. 

IV.    COINCIDENCE   AS  TO  CLIMATE. 

The  climate  of  Palestine  in  different  districts 
varies  according  to  their  altitude.  The  references 
made  to  it  in  the  Gospels  are  few  and  general,  but 
as  far  as  they  go  they  are  found  to  agree  perfectly 
with  modern  observations  as  registered  for  years 
at  Jerusalem  and  other  points. 

Thunder  and  Lightning. — These  meteoro- 
logical phenomena  are  once  and  again  mentioned 
in  the  sacred  narratives,  but  in  a  very  general 
way,  yet  with  sufficient  definiteness  to  indicate 
that  they  were  well-known  occurrences:  "As  the 
lightning  cometli  out  of  the  east  and  shineth  unto 
the  west."  "The  people  that  stood  by  and  heard 
it  said  that  it  thundered."     In  Palestine  thunder, 


58      NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

while  rarely  heard  in  summer,  is  not  uncommon 
in  winter.  Robinson,  Porter,  Tristram,  and  others 
record  that  they  witnessed  severe  thunder-storms 
in  different  j)arts  of  the  country. 

Wind  and  Rain. — A  storm  of  this  kind  is  a 
frequent  occurrence  during  the  winter  half  of  the 
year.  Our  Lord's  quick  and  discerning  mind  saw 
in  the  traces  left  behind  by  one  of  these  the  fol- 
lowing striking  and  impressive  illustration,  with 
which  he  closes  his  Sermon  on  the  Mount:  ''  Ev- 
ery one  that  heareth  these  sayings  of  mine  and 
doetli  them  not  shall  be  likened  to  a  foolish  man 
who  built  his  house  upon  the  sand.  And  the 
rain  descended  and  the  floods  came  and  the  winds 
blew  and  beat  upon  that  house,  and  it  fell ;  and 
great  was  the  fall  of  it. ' '  Dr.  H.  J.  Van  IvCnnep, 
who  spent  nearly  a  lifetime  in  Western  Asia,  says, 
''The  rains  here,  though  comparatively  infre- 
quent, are  copious  and  heavy  while  they  last. 
The  uneven  surface  of  the  country,  presenting 
steep  hillsides  furrowed  by  deep  valleys,  occasions 
during  a  storm  the  rapid  gathering  of  waters  to  a 
single  channel,  so  that  mighty  torrents  suddenly 
appear  rushing  along  through  gorges  where  not  a 
drop  of  water  trickled  an  hour  before.  These 
pour  down  with  irresistible  force,  often  tearing 
away  the  ground  and  sweeping  trees  and  all  else 
before  them.     Houses  erected  near  their  track  are 


PHYSICAL  COINCIDKNCKS.  59 

ill  imminent  danger  of  being'  undermined  and  car- 
ried away  by  these  angry  floods."  Rae  Wilson 
gives  a  similar  account  of  tliese  heavy  and  sudden 
rain-storms  in  Palestine. 

C1.OUDS  AND  Heat. — Our  Lord  refers  to  these 
in  the  following  words:  ''When  ye  see  a  cloud 
rise  out  of  the  west,  straightway  ye  say,  There 
Cometh  a  showier,  and  so  it  is."  In  Palestine  the 
westerly  winds,  or  those  passing  over  the  great 
Mediterranean,  bring  most  of  the  rains  that  fall 
there.  ''  In  the  forty-three  days,"  says  Tristram, 
''during  which  rain  fell  in  1863-4,  the  w^ind  was 
invariably  west  or  southwest."  "And  wdien  ye 
see  the  south  wind  blow,  ye  say.  There  will  be 
heat,  and  it  cometli  to  pass."  The  south  wind, 
or  that  sweeping  over  the  arid  sands  and  deserts 
of  Arabia,  always  brings  the  oppressive  heat  of 
the  sirocco,  so  stifling  to  man  and  beast.  "The 
south  wind,"  says  the  authority  just  quoted,  "is 
always  oppressive,  at  whatever  time  of  the  year 
it  blows.  We  had  two  days'  sirocco  with  the 
south  wind  in  November;  again  on  January  14 
and  15,  March  i  and  2,  April  21  and  25,  May  15, 
16,  26,  and  27.  These  were  the  only  occasions 
on  which  there  was  south  wind,  and  on  each  oc- 
casion the  sirocco  w^as  most  oppressive. "  "Ye 
hypocrites,  ye  can  discern  the  face  of  the  sky  and 
of  the  earth,  but  how  is  it  that  ye  do  not  discern 


6o      NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

this  time?"  This  reference  to  rain  and  heat  could 
be  true  in  no  other  country  than  Judaea  and  the 
adjacent  region;  this  reproof  could  be  applicable 
to  no  other  people  than  the  Jews;  and  it  could 
have  been  administered  by  no  other  than  one  ac- 
quainted with  both.  Taken  as  related  by  the 
evangelist,  all  is  consistent  and  all  is  true  and 
perfectly  natural. 

V.    CONCLUSION. 

Here  we  close  our  survey  of  the  land,  the 
scene  of  the  Saviour's  life  and  ministry.  We 
have  followed  his  footsteps  through  its  length  and 
breadth  and  have  examined  and  compared  its  fea- 
tures and  conditions  as  to  its  geography,  localities, 
vegetation,  living  tenants,  and  climatic  changes 
with  the  statements  of  the  sacred  narratives  and 
have  found  them  in  all  these  respects  to  be  in 
entire  harmony.  Not  a  hill  lifts  its  head,  not  a 
site  exhibits  a  ruin,  not  a  stream  ripples  in  its 
channel,  at  the  faintest  disharmony  with  the  his- 
tory they  relate;  not  a  tree  or  a  vine  or  a  flower 
or  a  weed  springs  out  of  its  soil  in  contradiction 
to  their  statements;  not  a  living  creature  cleaves 
its  waters  or  roams  over  its  fields  or  flies  through 
its  firmament  at  variance  with  their  descrip- 
tions; nor  do  even  the  flitting  clouds  or  the  shift- 
ing winds  exhibit  any  disagreement  with  their 


PHYSICAL  COINCIDENCES.  6t 

representations.     There  is  absolntely  no  discrep- 
ancy. 

Wherever  the  gospel  history  places  the  Sa- 
vionr,  whether  on  the  water  or  on  the  land,  in  the 
city  or  in  the  desert  place,  the  representations,  to 
their  minntest  details,  are  always  in  accordance 
with  what  is  known  to  be  the  natural  state  of 
things  there.  All  his  recorded  movements  and 
journeys,  as  we  have  seen,  are  in  perfect  agree- 
ment with  the  geographical  features  and  local 
sites  of  the  country.  All  his  labors  and  wonder- 
ful works  are  in  harmony  with  the  scene  where 
they  are  said  to  have  been  enacted.  All  his  illus- 
trations and  parables  are  drawn  from  objects  and 
operations  that  may  be  still  seen  in  the  land. 
I\Iany  of  his  discourses  are  so  involved  in  the  con- 
ditions and  so  intertwined  with  the  features  and 
surroundings  of  the  places  where  they  are  said  to 
have  been  delivered  that  they  could  not  have 
been  spoken  anywhere  else.  His  comparisons  and 
figures  and  similes  are  as  indigenous  to  the  coun- 
try as  are  its  vines  and  lilies  and  fig-trees.  His 
very  thoughts  and  expressions  take  their  cast  and 
coloring  from  the  scenes  where  the  evangelists 
place  him,  scenes  that  remain  to  this  day  beneath 
the  bright  and  broad  sunlight.  In  a  word,  as  the 
engraved  seal  fits  into  its  own  impression  in  the 
wax,  so  fits  the  gospel  history  into  the  form  and 


62     NATURAI.  LAWS  AND  GOSPEI.  TEACHINGS. 

features  and  conditions  of  the  land  in  which  its 
divine  subject  lived  and  labored  and  died  for  the 
salvation  of  men. 

Prof.  H.  B.  Tristram  closes  his  journal  of  trav- 
els throughout  Palestine,  undertaken  in  company 
with  a  corps  of  scientific  men,  with  special  refer- 
ence to  the  Geology,  Physical  Geography,  Botany 
and  Zoology  of  the  country,  with  the  following 
unqualified  and  decisive  testimony:  **The  prima- 
ry object  of  our  journey  was  the  investigation  of 
physical  and  natural  history;  not,  however,  to  the 
exclusion  of  other  objects  of  interest.  We  passed 
through  the  land  with  our  Bibles  in  our  hands — ■ 
with,  1  trust,  an  unbiased  determination  to  inves- 
tigate fac^s  and  their  independent  bearing  on 
sacred  history.  While  on  matters  of  science  the 
inspired  writers  speak  in  the  ordinary  language  of 
their  times  (the  only  language  w^hich  could  have 
been  understood),  I  can  bear  testimony  to  the 
minute  truth  of  innumerable  incidental  allusions 
in  Holy  Writ  to  the  facts  of  nature,  of  climate,  of 
geographical  position — corroborations  of  Scrip- 
ture which,  though  trifling  in  themselves,  reach 
to  minute  details  that  prove  the  writers  to  have 
lived  when  and  where  they  are  asserted  to  have 
lived,  which  attest  their  scrupulous  accuracy  in 
recording  what  they  saw  and  observed  around 
them,  and  which,  therefore,  must  increase  our 


PIIYSICAIv  COINCIDKNCES.  Ct, 

confidence  in  their  veracity  where  we  cannot 
have  the  like  means  of  testing  it.  I  can  find  no 
discrepancies  between  their  geographical  or  physi- 
cal statements  and  the  evidence  of  present  facts. 
I  can  find  no  standpoint  here  for  the  keenest  ad- 
vocate against  the  full  inspiration  of  the  scriptu- 
ral record.  The  Holy  I^and  not  only  elucidates  but 
bears  witness  to  the  truth  of  the  Holy  Book." 

The  whole  surface  of  the  Juda:a,  Samaria,  Gal- 
ilee, and  Persea  of  to-day  is  inscribed  with  a  record 
that  is  indisputable.  Even  skeptics,  after  the 
most  thorough  examination  of  the  ground  for 
themselves,  while  they  will  not  receive  Christ 
with  the  heart  or  yield  their  minds  to  the  domin- 
ion of  the  spiritual  doctrines  which  he  taught, 
find  themselves  constrained  to  admit  that  the 
gospel  narratives  are  unquestionable  records  of 
actual  events — of  the  travels  and  deeds  and  suf- 
ferings of  the  great  Teacher  of  Nazareth.  No 
opposer  of  the  divine  claims  and  miraculous  works 
of  Christ,  now  living,  has  more  closely  scrutinized 
or  severely  tested  every  statement,  fact,  and  cir- 
cumstance embraced  in  the  gospel  histories  than 
Rcnan,  the  French  skeptic.  To  prepare  himself 
for  writing  a  * '  lyife  of  Jesus ' '  he  studied  everything 
ancient  and  modern  relating  to  the  subject  or 
having  a  bearing  upon  it.  He  even  went  to  Pal- 
estine and  spent  years  there  to  examine  every- 


64      NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TKACHINGS. 

thing  visible  for  himself.  He  left  no  spot  unvis- 
ited,  no  stone  unturned.  And  of  all  this  what 
was  the  result?  At  what  conclusion  did  he  arrive? 
It  was  this,  and  we  give  it  in  his  own  words:  "  I 
have  traversed  in  every  direction  the  district 
where  the  scenes  of  the  gospel  are  laid.  I  have 
visited  Jerusalem  and  Hebron  and  Samaria.  Al- 
most no  site  named  in  the  story  of  Jesus  has  es- 
caped me.  All  this  narrative,  which  at  a  distance 
seems  to  float  in  the  clouds  of  an  unreal  world, 
thus  assumed  a  body,  a  substantial  existence, 
which  astonished  me.  The  striking  coincidence 
of  texts  and  places,  the  wonderful  harmony  of  the 
ideal  of  the  Gospels  with  the  country  which  served 
as  its  frame,  was  for  me  a  revelation.  I  had  be- 
fore my  eyes  a  Fifth  Gospel^  and  thenceforth 
through  the  stories  of  Matthew  and  Mark,  instead 
of  an  abstract  being  who  one  might  say  had  never 
existed,  I  saw  in  life  and  movement  a  human 
form  that  challenged  admiration!" 

No  intelligent  man,  at  the  present  day,  can 
reasonably  doubt  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  a  real 
character,  a  true  and  living  man,  who  labored  and 
taught  in  the  age  and  country  represented  in  the 
Gospels.  To  quote  again  a  thoroughly  competent 
authority,  John  Stuart  Mill,  whom  no  one  will 
accuse  or  suspect  of  being  biased  in  favor  of  Chris- 
tianity:  "Whatever  else  may  be  taken  away  from 


PHYSICAL  COINCIDENCES.  65 

US  by  rational  criticism,  Christ  is  still  left— a 
unique  figure,  not  more  unlike  all  his  precursors 
than  all  his  followers.  It  is  of  no  use  to  say  that 
Christ  as  exhibited  in  the  Gospels  is  not  historical, 
and  that  we  know  not  how  much  of  w^hat  is  ad- 
mirable has  been  superadded  by  the  tradition  of 
his  followers.  Who  among  his  disciples  or  among 
their  proselytes  was  capable  of  inventing  the  say- 
ings ascribed  to  Jesus  or  of  imagining  the  life 
and  character  revealed  in  the  Gospels?  Certainly 
not  the  fishermen  of  Galilee;  and  certainly  not 
St.  Paul,  whose  character  and  idiosyncrasies  were 
of  a  totally  diiferent  sort.  About  the  life  and  say- 
ings of  Jesus  there  is  a  stamp  of  personal  original- 
ity combined  with  profundity  of  insight  which 
must  place  him,  even  in  the  estimation  of  those 
who  have  no  belief  in  his  inspiration,  in  the  very 
first  rank  of  the  men  of  sublime  genius  of  whom 
our  species  can  boast.  When  this  preeminent 
genius  is  combined  with  the  qualities  of  probably 
the  greatest  moral  reformer  and  martyr  to  that 
mission  who  ever  existed  upon  earth,  w^e  have  the 
ideal  representative  and  guide  of  humanity;  nor 
even  now  would  it  be  easy,  even  for  an  unbeliev- 
er, to  find  a  better  translation  of  the  rule  of  virtue, 
from  the  abstract  to  the  concrete,  than  to  endeav- 
or to  so  live  that  Christ  would  approve  our  life." 


66     NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 


PART  II. 

NATURAL  LAWS  AND  THE  MIRACLES  OK  CHRIST. 

The  New  Testament  Scriptures  present  Jesus 
of  Nazareth  as  a  divine  Person,  and  assert  that  he 
was  a  Teacher  sent  forth  from  God,  and  that  in 
attestation  of  his  divine  commission  he  wrought 
many  notable  miracles;  and  the  object  of  this 
chapter  is  to  present,  in  a  clear  and  concise  form, 
various  evidences,  natural  and  historical,  which 
render  these  miracles  credible. 

A  miracle  may  be  defined  as.  An  act  of  God 
which  manifestly  deviates  from  the  ordinary  work- 
ing of  his  power  according  to  what  are  called  the 
*'laws  of  nature."  Of  this  character  were  the 
miracles  ascribed  in  the  gospel  to  Jesus  Christ. 

miracles  an  essential  part  of  CHRISTIANITY. 

Miracles  are  an  integral  and  vital  element  of 
the  Christian  religion.  Indeed,  the  whole  gospel 
scheme  is  one  grand  chain  of  miracles.  The  birth 
of  Christ  was  a  miracle,  his  sinless  life  was  a  mira- 
cle, his  teaching  was  interwoven  with  miracles, 
his  death  was  attended  with  miracles,  his  resur- 
rection was  a  miracle,  and  his  ascension  to  heaven 


MIRACLES   OF   CHRIST.  67 

was  a  miracle.  Miracles,  therefore,  are  insepa- 
rable from  Christianity.  Both  must  stand  or  fall 
together.  Christianity,  in  its  origin  and  in  its 
provisions,  claims  to  be  a  supernatural  religion; 
and  it  cannot  be  severed  from  miracles  without 
losing  both  its  virtue  and  its  authority.  Take  away 
miracles  from  the  gospel,  and  you  take  away  its 
foundation  stones  and  reduce  the  whole  spiritual 
structure  resting  upon  them  to  a  shattered  ruin, 
to  a  meaningless  heap. 

Jesus  Christ  rests  his  claims  to  be  received  as 
a  teacher  sent  from  God  upon  the  miraculous 
works  which  he  performed.  To  these  he  perpet- 
ually appeals  as  his  divine  credentials  as  an  am- 
bassador from  the  Father.  Thus  he  speaks :  ' '  The 
works  that  I  do  bear  witness  of  me  that  the  Father 
hath  sent  me."  "The  works  that  I  do  in  my  Fa- 
ther's name,  they  bear  witness  of  me."  "  Believe 
me  that  I  am  in  the  Father  and  the  Father  in  me, 
or  else  believe  me  for  the  very  works'  sake." 
"  If  I  do  not  the  works  of  my  Father,  believe  me 
not;  but  if  I  do,  though  ye  believe  not  me,  believe 
the  works. "  "  If  I  had  not  done  amono^  them  works 
which  none  other  man  did,  they  had  not  had  sin, 
but  now  they  have  no  cloak  for  their  sin." 

Upon  the  evidence  of  his  miracles,  to  which 
he  thus  appealed,  many,  we  read,  believed  on 
him.     "Rabbi,"  said  Nicodemus,  "we  know  thai 


63     NATURAI.  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

thou  art  a  teacher  come  from  God;  for  no  man  can 
do  these  miracles  that  thou  doest  except  God  be 
with  him."  Others,  we  are  told,  blinded  by  pre- 
conceived and  erroneous  notions  concernino-  the 
promised  Messiah,  and  by  hatred  of  the  pure  doc- 
trines he  taught,  rejected  him.  "Because  I  tell 
you  the  truth,  ye  believe  me  not.  And  if  ye  be- 
lieve not  that  I  am  he,  ye  shall  die  in  your  sins." 
To  reject  the  miracles  of  Christ,  then,  is  to  re- 
ject his  teaching  and  to  reject  Him.  A  disbe- 
liever in  the  supernatural  works  of  Christ  cannot 
be  a  disciple  of  his,  cannot,  in  any  proper  sense 
of  the  word,  be  a  Christian.  The  credibility  of 
the  Saviour's  miracles,  therefore,  is  a  subject  of 
momentous  and  vital  interest  to  every  man,  and 
demands  his  serious  and  candid  consideration. 

MIRACLES   NOT  IMPOSSIBLE. 

The  miracles  related  in  the  gospel  narratives 
have  in  every  age  engaged  much  study  and  dis- 
cussion, but  in  none  more  than  in  our  own.  They 
involve  much  that  is  inexplicable,  much  that  is 
mysterious  to  man,  and  thus  offend  the  wisdom  of 
the  proud  of  intellect  and  not  unfrequently  per- 
plex even  the  humble  and  honest  seeker  after 
truth.  Hence  some  are  led  boldly  to  deny  their 
verity,  while  others  remain  in  painfiil  doubts  con- 
cerning them. 


MIRACLES   OF  CHRIST.  69 

Now,  no  man  can  consistently  deny  the  possi- 
bility of  miracles  but  the  absolute  atheist;  to  him 
there  exists  no  being  or  power  capable  of  produ- 
ing  such  results;  he,  and  he  alone,  therefore,  can 
deny  their  possibility  without  self-contradiction. 
And  as  there  is  no  ground  for  argument  with  such 
a  person,  I  part  company  with  him  at  once,  and 
proceed  to  address  those  of  a  more  rational  and 
hopeful  creed. 

If  we  believe  that  there  is  a  God,  infinite  in 
wisdom  and  power,  we  must  believe,  at  least,  that 
such  miracles  as  those  recorded  in  the  gospel  are 
possible  to  him;  for  nothing  can  be  beyond  the 
power  of  him  who  is  omnipotent  or  beyond  the 
skill  of  him  who  is  omniscient.  If  we  admit  that 
God  is  the  first  and  efficient  cause  of  the  whole 
system  of  nature,  we  cannot  doubt  that  he  could 
have,  in  the  beginning,  set  all  its  forces — light, 
heat,  electricity,  magnetism,  chemical  affinity,  and 
gravitation  —  to  work  according  to  other  laws, 
laws  so  different  from  those  which  prevail  as  to 
produce  by  their  mutual  and  combined  operations 
another  sort  of  world,  a  world  which  would  have 
possessed  not  a  single  feature  in  common  with 
that  we  now  behold.  No  intellio-ent  theist  will 
question  this.  And  does  not  the  greater  power, 
which  is  thus  adequate  to  determine  and  consti- 
tute laws,  include  the  lesser  power  that  may  be 


70     NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

necessary  to  modify  or  suspend  them  so  as  to  pro- 
duce what  we  call  a  miracle?  "Belief  in  mira- 
cle," says  John  Stuart  Mill,  "is  perfectly  ra- 
tional on  the  part  of  a  believer  in  God."  But 
while  all  this  is  freely  admitted,  some  there  are 
who  see,  or  think  they  see,  sufficient  reasons  to 
doubt,  if  not  to  deny,  the  actual  occurrence  of 
miracles  at  any  time  or  place  in  our  world.  I^et 
us  glance,  then,  at  the  difficulties  which  are  sup- 
posed to  forbid  faith  in  the  wonderful  works  as- 
cribed to  Christ. 

OBJECTIONS  TO   MIRACLES. 

Of  the  objections  and  arguments  urged  against 
miracles,  the  following  are  the  most  worthy  of 
consideration. 

I.  "Miracles  are  contrary  to  all  observation 
and  experience." 

Human  observation  and  experience  are  limited 
by  both  space  and  time.  What  may  be  unknown 
to  the  people  of  one  age,  or  of  one  country,  may 
be  quite  familiar  to  those  of  another  age  or  of  an- 
other country.  Hence  the  fact  that  we  of  the 
present  day  have  neither  seen  nor  experienced  a 
miracle  supplies  no  proof  that  those  who,  1,850 
years  ago,  assembled  on  the  shores  of  the  Sea  of 
Galilee  were  not  both  witnesses  and  subjects  of 
many  miracles. 


MIRACI.es   of   CHRIST.  7 1 

2.  "  Miracles  are  incompreliensible,  and  there- 
fore cannot  be  reasonably  believed." 

Miracles  are  indeed  incompreliensible  as  to  the 
mode  in  which  they  are  accomplished,  but  not  as 
to  the  result  produced.  And  this  is  equally  true 
of  a  multitude  of  the  most  familiar  operations  of 
nature,  which  all  men  unhesitatingly  believe. 
We  thrust  a  twig  into  the  ground  and  presently  it 
sends  forth  roots,  grows  into  a  vine,  and  bears 
grapes;  but  how  the  moisture  of  the  soil  in  pass- 
ing through  the  alembics  of  the  vine  is  converted 
into  the  luscious  juice  of  those  grapes  is  as  much 
beyond  our  comprehension  as  how  the  water  in 
passing  through  the  water-pots  at  Cana  of  Gali- 
lee was  changed  into  wine.  The  multiplication 
of  the  seed  cast  into  the  furrow  is  as  great  a  mys- 
tery to  us  as  the  multiplication  of  the  bread  in  the 
Saviour's  hands  to  feed  the  multitude.  The  ori- 
gination of  life  in  the  unborn  infant  is  as  much 
beyond  our  comprehension  as  was  its  restoration 
to  the  little  daughter  of  Jairus  after  it  had  been 
breathed  out.  To  form  and  quicken  a  human 
being  is  at  least  as  great  a  marvel  and  a  mystery 
as  to  raise  him  from  the  dead. 

3.  "  Miracles  are  infractions  of  the  laws  of  na- 
ture, and  God  cannot  violate  the  laws  which  he 
himself  has  established." 

Miracles  are  nowhere  represented  in  Scripture 


72      NATURAI.  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

as  violations,  or  even  contradictions,  of  the  estab- 
lished laws  of  nature;  they  are  not  against  or  con- 
trary to  nature,  but  they  are  above  and  beyond 
nature.  In  a  miracle  we  have  a  superior  force 
overcoming  an  inferior,  an  occurrence  which  per- 
petually takes  place  in  every  province  of  creation. 
"Continually  we  behold  in  the  world  around  us 
lower  laws  held  in  restraint  by  higher,  mechanic 
by  dynamic,  chemical  by  vital,  physical  by  moral; 
yet  we  say  not,  when  the  lower  thus  gives  place 
in  favor  of  the  higher,  that  there  was  any  viola- 
tion of  law  or  that  anything  contrary  to  nature 
came  to  pass."  The  principle  of  the  counterac- 
tion of  force  by  force  meets  us  everywhere  in  na- 
ture. By  it  the  earth  and  all  the  other  planets 
are  retained  in  their  orbits,  the  centrifugal  force 
being  balanced  by  the  centripetal.  By  it  the 
growth  of  every  vegetable  is  carried  on  and  the 
actions  of  every  animal  are  performed.  Oxygen, 
which  composes  one-half  of  the  whole  substance 
of  the  globe,  is  one  of  the  most  powerful  and  vio- 
lent elements  in  nature;  but  a  small  proportion  of 
hydrogen  combining  with  it  overcomes  all  its  en- 
ergy and  renders  it  bland  and  harmless  as  the 
water  we  drink,  for  water  is  formed  by  this  pre- 
cise combination:  or  let  a  certain  proportion  of 
nitrogen  embrace  it  and  it  becomes  mild  as  the 
air  we  breathe,  for  the  atmosphere  is  just  such  a 


MIRACLES   OF   CIIRTST.  73 

combination  of  these  two  ingredients.  Again, 
gravitation  is  a  force  that  strongly  pulls  all  ma- 
terial substances  on  the  face  of  the  earth  down- 
wards towards  its  centre;  but  the  vital  force  oi 
plants  overcomes  it,  and  in  spite  of  all  its  pull, 
carries  streams  of  liquid  solutions  upward  and 
with  them  builds  a  tree  fifty  or  a  hundred  feet 
high.  Again,  by  gravitation  my  body,  with  all 
its  members,  like  everything  else,  is  perpetually 
drawn  downward;  but  I  can  lift  my  arm  and  so 
far  overcome  it,  but  when  I  do  so  the  law  of  grav- 
itation, as  far  as  that  arm  is  concerned,  is  not  an- 
nihilated or  even  suspended;  it  exerts  its  power 
as  much  as  ever  upon  it,  but  is  overcome  by  the 
higher  law  or  force  of  my  will.  In  the  act  of 
lifting  up  my  arm,  therefore,  there  is  no  violation 
of  law.  So  when  the  will-force  of  Jesus  so  far 
overcame  that  of  gravitation  as  to  enable  him  to 
walk  on  the  waves  of  the  sea  there  was  no  viola- 
tion, no  interruption  of  law;  gravitation  all  the 
while  might  have  exerted  its  full  force  on  every 
particle  of  his  body  as  on  the  uplifted  arm,  but 
v/as  overcome  by  the  superior  force  of  his  divine 
will.  So  that  in  this  astonishing  miracle  we  do 
but  witness  a  weaker  force  overcome  by  a  strong- 
er or  a  lower  law  yielding  to  a  higher,  a  fact  in 
entire  harmony  with  the  established  government 
of  the  whole  physical  world. 


74      NATURAL  I.AWS  AND  GOSPEI.  TEACHINGS. 

4.   ' '  The  stability  and  uniformity  of  nature  are 
against  the  admission  of  miracles. ' ' 

The  realm  of  nature  is  indeed  a  realm  of  es- 
tablished order,  and  no  book  asserts  the  uniformity 
of  nature's  laws  more  emphatically  than  the  Bible. 
But  this,  instead  of  being  an  argument  for  the 
exclusion  of  miracles,  is  a  necessary  condition  for 
their  display.  If  there  had  not  been  an  established 
order  of  nature,  such  a  thing  as  a  distinct  and  de- 
cisive miracle  could  not  have  taken  place,  or  at 
least  could  not  have  been  distinguished  from  its 
occasional  aberrations  or  obliquities.  It  is  the 
regularity  of  nature  that  proves  an  exceptional 
event  to  have  been  a  miracle.  The  prevailing 
uniformity  of  natural  laws,  however,  is  no  proof 
that  their  action  never  has  been  and  never  can  be 
modified  or  suspended  by  a  miracle.  So  far  as 
the  observations  of  living  men  have  extended, 
they  may  pronounce  positively  that  no  instance, 
no  sign  of  departure  from  law,  has  been  witnessed 
by  them;  but  this  is  quite  another  thing  from 
proof  that  there  never  has  been  such  a  departure. 
Astronomers  had  long  been  telling  the  world  that 
among  the  heavenly  bodies  they  observed  nothing 
but  regular  orbits  and  uniform  motions,  and  that 
any  departure  from  this  established  order  was  for- 
bidden by  law;  yet,  to  the  astonishment  of  all,  in 
1846  there  happened  such  a  thing  as  a  comet 


MIRACLES  OF  CHRIST.  75 

Splitting  into  two,  each  having  a  distinct  tail  and 
nucleus,  and,  after  travelling  far  apart  through 
millions  of  miles,  reuniting  and  forming  one  com- 
et again  as  at  first.  Of  this  extraordinary  occur- 
rence the  heavens  gave  no  indication  before  and 
retained  no  trace  after;  the  phenomenon  is  known 
to  us  only  from  the  testimony  of  those  who  ob- 
served it.  And  so  it  has  been  with  the  miracles 
of  the  gospel;  nature  gave  no  sign  of  their  coming 
and  has  preserved  no  evidence  of  their  accom- 
plishment; we  know  that  they  were  wrought  only 
through  the  concurrent  testimony  of  those  who, 
like  the  observers  of  the  comet,  were  eye-witnesses 
of  their  performance. 

5.  "Miracles  are  contrary  to  the  universal  law 
of  cause  and  effect,  and  are  therefore  incredible." 

The  miracles  of  the  gospel  were  not  effects 
without  a  cause,  but  were  effects  produced  imme- 
diately by  the  most  efficient  of  all  causes.  To 
this  objection  one  of  the  masters  of  modern  rea- 
soning has  returned  this  sufficient  reply:  "A  mir- 
acle is  no  contradiction  to  the  law  of  cause  and 
effect;  it  is  a  new  effect  supposed  to  be  produced 
by  the  introduction  of  a  new  cause.  Of  the 
adequacy  of  that  cause,  if  present,  there  can  be 
no  doubt,  and  the  only  antecedent  improbability 
which  can  be  ascribed  to  the  miracle  is  the  im- 
probability that  any  such  cause  existed."     Grant 


76     NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

the  ^' cause,"  that  is,  God,  and  all  improbability 
vanishes. 

6.  "The  universe  is  a  complete  and  all-related 
machine,  and  to  interfere  by  a  miracle  with  one 
of  its  laws  or  forces  would  be  to  propagate  distur- 
bance through  the  whole;  a  miracle,  therefore,  is 
incredible. ' ' 

To  this  we  might  be  content  simply  to  reply 
that  the  world  is  not  a  machine  and  God  is  not  a 
mechanic  in  any  such  sense  as  is  generally  at- 
tached to  these  terms.  But  accepting  the  simile 
for  what  it  is  worth,  I  deny  that  any  such  distur- 
bance Vvould  necessarily  be  spread  through  nature 
by  any  of  the  Saviour's  miracles.  We  often  see 
the  materials  and  forces  of  nature,  even  by  the 
will  of  man,  diverted  or  opposed  in  various  ways; 
we  see  him  set  inert  and  heavy  bodies  in  sudden 
and  rapid  motion,  blow  masses  of  rock  into  frag- 
ments with  his  dynamite,  cut  down  forests  and 
thereby  diminish  the  amount  of  rain  and  increase 
that  of  the  solar  heat,  drain  pestilential  swamps 
and  convert  them  to  healthful  habitations,  divert 
the  lightning  in  its  fearful  rush  and  send  it 
harmless  into  the  ground;  but  the  general  work- 
ings of  nature  are  in  no  way  detrimentally  affected 
by  any  or  all  of  these.  Why,  then,  should  the 
miracles  of  Jesus  —  his  healing  a  leper,  giving 
sight  to  the  blind,  withering  a  fig-tree,  or  stilling 


MIRACLES   OI^  CHRIST.  77 

a  tempest  on  the  little  Lake  of  Galilee — be  sup- 
posed to  send  such  disturbance  through  the  con- 
stitution of  nature  ?  And  even  if  in  the  natural 
course  of  things  such  an  effect  would  follow,  it  is 
sufficient  to  observe  that,  since  all  the  forces  of 
nature,  as  scientists  now  hold,  are  but  different 
manifestations  of  one  and  the  same  force,  and  that 
one  force  but  the  will-force  of  God,  the  will-force 
of  him  who  performs  the  miracle,  it  is  manifest 
that  he  could  with  infinite  ease  limit  and  confine 
the  effects  of  the  most  stupendous  miracle  on 
record  to  the  object  or  individual  concerned  in  its 
performance. 

Such  are  the  principal  objections  that  have 
been  urged  from  the  operations  of  natural  law 
against  the  gospel  miracles.  And  all  these,  as  we 
have  now  seen,  are  without  force;  they  present  no 
antecedent  grounds,  point  out  no  fundamental 
principle,  offer  no  conclusive  or  convincing  reason 
for  rejecting  these  miracles.  They  are  but  as 
blank  cartridges,  making  a  noise  indeed,  but  leav- 
ing the  object  against  which  they  are  aimed  un- 
moved and  unharmed. 

EVIDENCE  FOR  MIRACLES  IN  NATURE. 

The  researches  of  natural  science,  though  they 
have  succeeded  in  interpreting  so  many  of  the 
laws   and   phenomena  of  the   creation,   can   say 


73      NATUPvAI.  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

nothing  directly  either  for  or  against  the  particular 
miracles  related  in  the  New  Testament.  The 
field  of  science  is  confined  to  physical  nature,  but 
these  miracles  belong  to  quite  another  field — a 
field  where  her  instruments  cannot  avail,  where 
her  experiments  cannot  be  made,  and  where  all 
her  calculations  are  powerless ;  their  producing 
Cause  is  above  and  beyond  her  means  of  investi- 
gation. 

But  though  science  cannot  be  cited  as  a  direct 
witness  for  the  miracles  of  Christ,  yet  it  has  ren- 
dered one  important  service  relative  to  this  sub- 
ject: it  points  out  certain  events  in  the  history  of 
our  planet  which  no  physical  laws  or  forces  will 
serve  to  explain  ar  account  for  and  which,  there- 
fore, must  be  ascribed  to  a  Power  above  nature. 
The  history  of  this  globe,  as  deciphered  by  sci- 
ence, presents  indisputable  evidence  that  God,  at 
successive  periods,  wrought  miracles  in  our  world. 
Some  of  these  we  now  proceed  to  notice. 

I.  We  have  a  miracle  in  the  origination  of 
MATTER.  If  we  believe  there  is  a  God  at  all,  we 
must  believe  that  he  is  eternal  and  before  all 
things.  And  if  he  was  before  all  things,  then  all 
things  must  have  had  a  beginning.  Matter,  the 
dead  and  inorganic  matter,  composing  our  globe 
and  all  other  globes,  therefore,  is  not  eternal;  and 
it  is  not  self-originated,  it  could  not  of  its  own 


MIRACLES   OF  CHRIST.  79 

accord  begin  to  be,  for  that  is  inconceivable,  is, 
indeed,  impossible,  for  that  would  be  acting  before 
it  had  a  being.  Matter,  then,  must  have  been 
created.  And  evidence  of  this  it  still  carries  in  its 
own  bosom.  Every  elementary  molecule  of  mat- 
ter, science  tells  us,  has  its  specific  properties,  so 
that,  as  Sir  John  Herschel  asserts,  "these  mole- 
cules possess  all  the  characteristics  of  manufactured 
articles y  And  Pirof.  Maxwell  says,  "No  theory 
of  evolution  can  be  formed  to  account  for  the  sim- 
ilarity of  the  molecules  throughout  all  time  and 
space.  These  molecules  are  and  ever  have  been 
perfect  in  number  and  measure  and  weight.  None 
of  the  processes  of  nature,  since  the  time  when 
nature  began,  have  produced  the  slightest  differ- 
ence in  the  properties  of  any  molecule.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  exact  equality  of  each  molecule 
to  all  others  of  the  same  kind  precludes  the  idea 
of  its  being  eternal  and  self-existent."  Matter, 
then,  had  a  beginning  and  must  have  been  cre- 
ated, that  is,  must  have  been  the  product  of  a 
miracle. 

2.  We  have  a  miracle  in  the  origin  of  motion. 
In  whatever  form  or  condition  matter  was  created 
or  originally  existed,  in  that  form  and  condition  it 
must  have  always  remained  unless  disturbed  or 
put  in  motion  by  some  external  agency.  Science 
lays    it  down   as   a   fundamental   principle   that 


8o      NATURAI.  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

"matter  is  inert ^''^  and  its  first  law  of  motion  as- 
serts that  "a  body  of  matter  at  rest  continues  in 
that  state  except  in  so  far  as  it  may  be  compelled 
by  impressed  force  to  change  that  state. ' '  Hence 
whatever  may  have  been  the  primordial  condition 
of  the  material  universe,  whether  a  cloud  of  dust, 
according  to  Democritus,  or  a  fiery  mist,  according 
to  the  modern  hypothesis,  if  not  subjected  to  the 
action  of  an  Efficient  Cause  exterior  to  itself,  it 
must  have  remained  for  ever  dead,  motionless, 
and  unchangeable.  To  originate  motion,  to  start 
the  revolutions  of  the  earth  and  the  other  planets, 
therefore,  some  external  agency  possessed  of  spon- 
taneity must  be  inferred.  And  as  the  only  spon- 
taneous agent  we  know  of  is  free-will^  the  Will  of 
the  eternal  Being  (for  that  alone  was  adequate) 
must  have  been  the  first  cause  of  motion,  of  inter- 
action in  masses,  and  of  progression  in  space.  Mo- 
tion, therefore— all  motion  in  the  system  of  na- 
ture—originated in  the  fiat  of  the  Almighty,  that 
is,  in  a  miracle. 

3.  We  have  a  miracle  in  the  institution  and 
coordination  of  the  physical  LAWS  which  actu- 
ate and  govern  material  nature.  The  laws  of 
gravitation  and  motion,  the  laws  of  light  and  heat, 
of  electricity  and  magnetism,  of  attraction  and 
repulsion,  all  these,  always  and  everywhere,  work 
with  mathematical  and  infallible  exactness,  and 


MIRACLES  OF   CHRIST.  8l 

all  are  so  admirably  adjusted  and  combined  that 
they  play  into  each  other's  hands  as  if  each  were 
an  angel  of  unerring  sympathy  and  insight,  and 
thus  out  of  infinite  complexity  of  operations  pro- 
duce a  world  of  divine  unity,  harmony,  and  beau- 
ty. Such  a  system  of  perfect  and  all-related  laws, 
embracing  and  controlling  all  that  takes  place  in 
the  earth,  the  ocean,  and  the  atmosphere,  could 
have  its  origin  in  none  other  than  the  All-com- 
prehending Mind.  Law  implies  a  law-giver  and 
a  time  when  it  was  given.  The  institution  and 
coordination  of  the  marvellous  laws  which  govern 
our  w^orld,  therefore,  must  have  had  a  beginning 
and  must  have  been  an  immediate  act  of  God,  in 
other  words,  a  miracle.  No  sane  mind  will  un- 
dertake to  dispute  this. 

4.  Descending  through  undefined  periods,  we 
have  again  a  miracle  in  the  introduction  of  planT- 
LiFB  upon  the  earth.  That  our  globe  was  once 
in  a  condition  that  allowed  not  of  the  existence  of 
vegetation  and  that  it  continued  through  long 
ages  without  a  single  plantal  growth  upon  its 
whole  surface,  being  a  molten  sphere,  is  a  fact 
admitted  by  all.  With  the  first  plant  appeared 
in  our  world  a  new  thing,  a  new  force,  differing 
essentially  from  all  the  physical  and  chemical 
forces  that  had  previously  been  in  operation,  and 
governed    by    essentially   different    laws.      Nay, 

Natural  Laws.  f\ 


82      NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

plant-life  was  so  far  superior  to  those  forces  that 
it  employed  them  as  its  servants  to  accomplish  its 
own  ends.  It  possessed  a  power  to  overcome 
gravitation  and  to  exercise  a  chemistry  peculiar 
to  itself.  It  seized  upon  and  grouped  the  atoms 
of  inorganic  matter  to  compose  for  itself  an  organ- 
ized residence,  such  as  had  never  existed  before. 
Whence,  then,  came  this  distinct  principle,  this 
new  and  mysterious  power,  this  vital  force  of 
plants?  Not  from  any  combination  of  the  pre- 
viously existing  forces,  for  it  had  nothing  in  com- 
mon with  them.  Not  from  any  quality  or  com- 
position of  soil,  for  to  this  day  the  most  accom- 
plished chemists  have  utterly  failed  to  produce  a 
composition  from  which  it  can  be  elicited  or  even 
a  form  in  which  it  can  be  induced  to  take  up  its 
abode;  it  rejects  every  habitation  except  that  of 
its  own  construction.  Prof.  Huxley  vainly  at- 
tempts to  account  for  this  vital  mystery  by  telling 
us  that  every  plant  comes  from  protoplasm.  Be  it 
so,  but  the  protoplasm  that  will  give  birth  to 
plant-life  must  itself  be  the  product  of  some  pre- 
vious plant,  and  such  a  thing  is  unknown  and 
non-existent  except  as  produced  under  the  influ- 
ence of  pre-existing  life.  This  stands  now  an  un- 
disputed fact.  Whence,  then,  we  ask  again,  the 
first  plant  that  produced  the  first  living  proto- 
plasm ?     But   one   answer   can   be   returned  —  it 


MIRACLES   OF   CHRIST.  83 

must  have  been  the  product  of  supernatural  Agen- 
cy, or  a  miracle.  "For  these  reasons,"  says  the 
profound  author  of  "  Habit  and  Intelligence,"  "I 
believe  that  plant-life,  like  matter  and  energy, 
had  its  origin  in  no  secondary  cause,  but  in  the 
direct  action  of  Creative  Power." 

5.  Coming  down  to  a  later  period  still  in  the 
history  of  our  globe,  we  witness  another  miracle 
in  the  introduction  of  animal  life.  In  this 
event  we  have  a  marked  upward  step  in  the  pro- 
gressive work  of  creation.  Whatever  general  or 
particular  resemblance  may  appear  between  some 
members  of  the  vegetable  and  animal  kingdoms, 
there  exists  an  essential  distinction  between  them ; 
the  one  cannot  be  derived  from  the  other.  Plants 
feed  on  inorganic  matter;  animals  can  feed  only 
on  organic  matter — on  vegetables  or  vegetable 
productions.  "Vegetables,"  says  Prof.  Murphy, 
' '  form  their  organic  compounds  out  of  the  mate- 
rials of  the  inorganic  world,  and  animals  give 
them  back  to  the  inorganic  world  again  in  the 
form  of  waste  material.  Thus  the  relations  of 
vegetables  and  of  animals  to  matter  are  opposite. 
The  dynamic  function  of  vegetables  also  is  the 
opposite  of  that  of  animals.  Vegetables  take  up, 
animals  give  out,  energy.  In  a  word,  vegetables 
take  up  both  matter  and  energy  from  the  inor- 
ganic w^orld,  and  the  animals  that  feed  on  the 


84      NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

vegetables  give  back  the  matter  and  the  energy 
again  to  the  inorganic  world,"  The  animal  dif- 
fers from  the  plant  not  only  in  its  cliemic  and 
dynamic  actions,  but  also  in  its  physiological 
functions  and  capacities;  it  possesses  powers  of 
sense  and  activity  with  which  we  can  find  nothing 
to  compare  in  the  whole  vegetable  kingdom.  In 
animal  life  or  vital  power,  then,  we  have  a  new 
force  and  what  may  be  characterized,  in  reference 
to  all  that  Vv^ent  before  it,  as  a  stipcrnatiiral  product. 
In  it  we  have  a  product  above  and  beyond  all  that 
nature  had  previously  exhibited  or  owned,  and 
which,  as  the  cause  must  ever  excel  its  effect, 
must  have  been  brought  into  existence  by  a  Powder 
above  and  beyond  all  that  nature  possessed. 

It  was  long  a  favorite  notion  w4th  a  certain 
class  of  naturalists  that  life  could  be  generated 
spontaneously  from  inorganic  matter,  and  it  w^as 
announced  more  than  once  that  the  feat  had  act- 
ually been  accomplished.  But  late  and  more 
accurate  experiments  have  disproved  all  this  and 
settled  the  question.  "  Spontaneous  generation" 
has  now  been  given  up  by  its  most  ardent  advo- 
cates. Even  Tyndall  has  been  compelled  to  say, 
*'I  affirm  that  no  shred  of  trustworthy  experi- 
mental testimony  exists  to  prove  that  life  in  our 
day  has  ever  appeared  independentl}^  of  antece- 
dent life."     And  Huxley  has  made  the  frank  ac- 


MIRACI.es  of  CHRIST.  85 

knowledgment  that  the  doctrine  of  ^'life  only  from 
life  is  victorious  along  the  whole  line  at  the  pres- 
ent day."  From  whence,  then,  the  first  life  but 
from  the  living  God?  The  origin  of  animal  life 
upon  our  planet  cannot  rationally  be  ascribed  to 
any  other  cause  than  a  special  and  direct  act  of 
the  Creator.  *' Geology,"  says  Prof.  Dana,  ^'ap- 
pears to  bring  us  directly  before  the  Creator,  and 
leads  us  to  no  other  solution  of  the  origin  of  life 
than  this— Dais  fecit'''  (God  produced  it).  So 
Prof.  Murphy:  "  We  have  every  reason  to  believe 
that  animal  life,  like  matter,  has  had  its  origin  in 
the  direct  action  of  Creative  Power."  So  Prin- 
cipal Dawson:  "Whatever  theory  we  adopt,  un- 
doubtedly we  must  hold  that  a  higher  spiritual 
Power  or  Creator  is  necessary  to  the  existence  of 
life."  And  even  Darwin  himself  ascribes  the 
beginning  of  life  on  our  globe  to  a  specific  act  of 
the  Creator.  These  are  his  words :  ' '  There  is  gran- 
deur in  this  view  of  life,  with  its  several  powers, 
having  been  originally  breathed  by  the  Creator  into 
a  few  forms  or  into  one. ' '  In  the  introduction  of 
animal  life  upon  the  earth,  then,  we  have  an  un- 
deniable, an  admitted,  miracle. 

6.  Descending  still  with  the  flow  of  time  and 
passing  by  the  various  "orders"  of  animals  that 
were  successively  introduced  to  inhabit  sea  and 
land  and  air,  we  now  come  down  to  the  close  of 


6      NATURAI,  LAWS  AND  GOSPE)!^  TKACIIINGS. 


the  geological  history  of  our  globe;  and  here  we 
behold  another  signal  miracle  in  the  creation  of 
MAN.  In  intelligent  and  moral  man  we  have  a 
being  quite  distinct  from  and  immeasurably  in 
advance  of  all  the  living  creatures  that  had  pre- 
viously occupied  the  earth— a  being  whose  intro- 
duction into  existence  cannot  be  rationally  ascribed 
to  any  agency  but  a  special  act  of  the  Creator. 
No  forces  or  laws  of  the  physical  world  and  no 
properties  or  functions  or  powers  of  animal  nature 
that  had  preceded  him  will  serve  to  account  for 
his  unique  and  preeminent  nature  and  character. 
In  body  and  mind  he  is  acknowledged,  by  com- 
mon consent,  to  be  unapproached  by  any  living 
thing  that  went  before.  His  erect  and  symmetri- 
cal form,  his  expressive  countenance  and  com- 
manding attitude,  his  sensitive  and  ingenious 
hands,  his  voluminous  brain  and  delicate  nerves, 
his  self-consciousness  and  intellectual  faculties, 
his  memory  and  imagination  and  reasoning  pow- 
ers, his  capacity  for  language  and  social  inter- 
course, his  affections  and  emotions  and  conscience, 
his  susceptibility  for  moral  culture  and  refine- 
ment, his  genius  for  science,  poetry,  and  music, 
his  ability  to  survey  the  scenes  of  nature  and  to 
understand  its  laws,  his  conscious  freedom  of  will 
and  accountability,  his  sense  of  right  and  guilt 
and  penitence,  his  innate  j^i'omptings  to  look  up 


MIRACI.KS  OF  CHRIST.  87 

and  appeal  to  a  higher  Power,  his  boundless  as- 
pirations and  intuitions  of  immortality,  his  ability 
to  look  backward  into  the  abyss  of  the  past  and 
forward  into  the  eternity  which  is  future — these 
preeminent  endowments  prove  him  at  once  to 
every  unbiased  mind  to  be  a  separate  "order''  of 
being,  the  product  of  a  direct  and  special  act  of 
the  Creator. 

I  am  well  aware  that  a  widely  different  view 
has  been  put  forth  and  is  held  by  some.  Every 
reader  knows  that  Lamark  conceived  the  idea, 
and  that  later  Darwin  and  his  followers  have  at- 
tempted to  prove,  that  all  living  creatures,  man 
included,  have  come  into  being  by  what  is  called 
"Natural  Selection;"  in  other  words,  by  slow  and 
fortuitous  variations  beginning  with  the  lowest 
and  simplest  vitalized  atoms  and  carried  on  no- 
body knows  through  what  myriads  of  ages.  But 
this  theory,  or  rather  hypothesis,  at  least  so  far  as 
mail  is  concerned,  is  beset  by  difficulties  so  numer- 
ous and  so  great  that  they  have  perplexed  and 
staggered  its  stoutest  advocates  and  compelled 
them  to  make  admissions  that  plainly  show  upon 
what  a  flimsy  foundation  their  assumptions  rest. 

Prof.  Huxley,  though  among  the  foremost  of 
these  evolutionists,  finds  himself  forced  to  speak 
thus:  "No  one  is  more  certain  than  I  am  that, 
whether  man  is  from  the  brutes  or  not,  he  is  as- 


88     NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPKL  TEACHINGS. 

suredly  not  of  them."  Again  he  says,  "The 
divergence  of  man  from  the  simian,  or  monkey, 
race  is  unmeasurablE  and  practically  infi- 
nite." 

Prof.  Alfred  Wallace,  one  of  the  originators  of 
and  by  far  the  best  expositor  of  the  theory  of  Nat- 
ural Selection,  confesses  that  he  discovers  in  man, 
in  his  body  as  well  as  in  his  mind,  what  compels 
him  to  believe  that  a  special  interposition  of  di- 
vine agency  was  concerned  in  his  production. 
He  finds  in  "the  peculiar  construction  of  his  hand 
and  foot,"  in  the  "wonderful  power,  range,  flex- 
ibility, and  sweetness  of  the  musical  sounds  pro- 
ducible by  the  human  larynx,"  in  the  "size  of 
his  brain,"  in  his  "capacity  to  form  ideal  concep- 
tions of  space  and  time,  of  eternity  and  infinity," 
in  his  "capacity  for  intense  artistic  feelings  of 
pleasure  in  form,  color,  and  composition,"  in 
those  "abstract  ideas  of  form  and  number  which 
render  geometry  possible,"  and  in  his  "conscience 
or  moral  sense" — in  these  he  finds  what  convin- 
ces him  that  man  is  to  be  set  "  apart"  in  the  zo- 
ological system,  "not  only  as  the  head  of  organic 
nature,  but  in  some  degrees  7iew  and  distinct  order 
of  being. ' ' 

St.  George  Mivart,  also  an  evolutionist,  and 
who  stands  in  the  first  rank  of  living  naturalists, 
makes  this  explicit  statement:  "  The  soul  of  man 


MIRACLES  OE  CHRIST.  89 

was  created,  not  by  any  preexisting  means,  but 
by  the  direct  action  of  the  Almighty,  symbolized 
by  the  term  brcatJdugy 

Dr.  Dawson,  President  of  Montreal  University, 
speaking  of  the  first  man,  says,  "His  Maker 
breathed  into  him  a  spiritual  nature  akin  to  His 
own,  whereby  he  became  different  from  all  other 
animals  and  the  very  shadow  and  likeness  of  God, 
capable  of  rising  to  abstractions  and  general  con- 
ceptions of  truth  and  goodness  and  of  holding 
communion  with  his  Creator." 

Arnold  Guyot,  Professor  of  Geology  in  the 
College  of  New  Jersey,  makes  this  emphatic 
statement:  "That  spiritual  element  which  con- 
stitues  man  a  distinct  creation  can  no  more  be 
derived  from  the  physiological  functions  of  the 
animal  than  life  can  be  evolved  from  dead  mat- 
ter. There  is  between  the  two  planes  an  impass- 
able abyss." 

Prof.  Dana,  of  Yale  College,  America's  most 
distinguished  geologist,  gives  his  view  of  this  sub- 
ject in  these  words:  "If,  then,  the  present  teach- 
ing of  geology  as  to  the  origin  of  species  is  for  the 
most  part  indecisive,  it  still  strongly  confirms  the 
belief  that  man  is  not  of  nature's  making.  Inde- 
pendently of  such  evidence,  man's  high  reason, 
his  unsatisfied  aspirations,  his  free  will,  all  afford 
the  fullest  assurance  that  he  owes  his  existence  to 


90     NATURAIv  I.AVv'S  AND  GOSPKIv  TEACHINGS. 

the  Special  act  of  the  Infinite  Being  whose  image 
he  bears." 

If,  therefore,  any  weight  of  authority  or  any 
kind  or  number  of  decisive  facts  can  prove  any- 
thing, then  tliat  man  is  the  product  of  a  special 
and  direct  act  of  God,  or  a  miracle^  is  abundantly 
established. 

We  have  now  seen  that,  at  successive  stages  in 
the  progressive  work  of  forming,  furnishing,  and 
peopling  the  earth,  special  and  direct  acts  of 
divine  power  were  put  forth.  The  origination  of 
matter,  the  beginning  of  motion,  the  ordination 
of  physical  laws,  the  origin  of  plant-life,  the  intro- 
duction of  animal  life,  and  the  creation  of  man — 
are  all  indisputable  mij'aclcs ;  nothing  else  that 
human  science  can  point  to  or  human  philosophy 
suggest  will  serve  either  to  explain  or  account  for 
them. 

Now  these  facts  prove  to  us  several  important 
truths:  they  prove  that  miracles  are  not  impossi- 
ble, that  God  has  not  tied  and  bound  his  own 
hands  by  the  ordinances  which  he  has  appointed 
for  the  general  government  of  the  world,  that  the 
"laws  of  nature"  are  subject  to  the  will  of  the 
supreme  Law^zWr,  and  that  he  has  in  the  course 
of  the  world's  history  once  and  again  interposed 
among  the  workings  of  natural  forces  to  accom- 
i:)lish  what  they  could  not  effect.     And  further,  as 


MIRACLES   OF   CHRIST.  9 1 

Ills  plan  concerning  the  world  is  continuous,  with- 
out a  break,  and  still  in  steady  progress  of  devel- 
opment, they  prove  that  what  had  taken  place  in 
the  past  might  take  place  again  in  the  future;  in 
other  words,  they  establish  the  probability  that, 
should  occasion  demanding  and  worthy  of  them 
arise  in  time  to  come,  miracles  would  be  per- 
formed again.  And  such  an  occasion,  as  we  shall 
immediately  see,  did  arise. 

It  will  be  observed  that  each  of  the  foregoing 
miracles  marked  the  beginning  of  a  distinct  and 
important  epoch  in  the  world's  progress  and  served 
to  advance  and  lift  it  to  a  higher  plane — the  cha- 
otic to  orderly  material,  the  material  to  the  vegeta- 
ble, the  vegetable  to  the  animal,  and  the  animal  to 
intelligent  and  moral  man.  And  now,  as  the  facts 
of  man's  history  abundantly  prove,  another  advance 
and  lift  became  necessary;  and  analogy  would  nat- 
urally lead  to  the  expectation  that  this,  as  in  each 
of  the  preceding  stages,  would  be  accomplished 
by  a  like  interposition  of  miraculous  power.  And 
so,  as  we  are  assured  by  credible  witnesses,  it 
came  to  pass. 

Man,  the  human  race,  the  beings  for  whom 
the  world  was  made,  early  fell  from  the  bright  and 
happy  state  in  which  their  Maker  had  placed 
them  and  sank  into  a  condition  of  sin  and  misery, 
subject  to  toil  and  disease  and  death.      Infinite 


92      NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

Wisdom  had  foreseen  this  and  provided  for  it. 
His  plan,  perfect  and  all-comprehending,  em- 
braced a  system  of  means  for  their  restoration  and 
elevation;  and  the  nnfolding  of  that  plan  would 
bring  on  a  brighter  day  for  lost  humanity.  Ac- 
cordingly, when  in  the  fulness  of  time  this  era, 
the  most  wonderful  and  imj^ortant  in  the  world's 
history,  was  ushered  in,  it  was,  as  aforetime,  by 
the  intervention  of  miracles  —  now  miracles  of 
grace.  The  occasion  demanded  them  and  was 
worthy  of  them.  Hence  appeared  in  our  v/orld  a 
divine  Redeemer,  *' Jesus  of  Nazareth,  a  man  ap- 
proved of  God  by  miracles  and  wonders  and  signs 
which  God  did  by  him  in  the  midst  of  the  people; 
he  being  delivered  by  the  determinate  counsel  and 
foreknowledge  of  God,  was  taken,  and  by  wicked 
hands  was  crucified  and  slain;  whom  God  raised 
up,  having  loosed  the  pains  of  death,  because  it 
was  impossible  that  he  should  be  holden  of  it." 

And  why  should  all  this  be  doubted  or  called 
in  question  by  any?  Is  it  not  in  harmony  with 
the  divine  procedure  from  the  beginning?  If  he 
wrought  miracles  to  produce  a  material  kingdom, 
why  might  he  not  do  the  same  to  institute  a  spir- 
itual kingdom  ?  If  he  resorted  to  a  miracle  to  set 
in  order  physical  laws,  why  might  he  not  to  estab- 
lish the  higher  laws  of  truth  and  righteousness? 
If  he  put  forth  a  miracle  to  beautify  the  earth 


MIRACLES   OK  CHRIST.  93 

with  vegetation,  wliy  might  he  not  to  adorn  it 
with  plants  of  grace  and  flowers  of  holiness  ?  If 
he  performed  a  miracle  to  bring  man  into  being 
in  an  earthly  form,  why  not  to  elevate  him  to  a 
celestial  state  and  sphere  of  existence?  If  he 
wronght  a  miracle  to  people  this  lower  world  with 
animal  tenants,  why  not  to  people  heaven  with 
immortal  beings?  In  a  word,  why  should  it  be 
thought  a  thing  incredible  that  the  grandest  epoch 
in  the  moral  world,  involving  the  eternal  welfare 
of  the  last  and  highest  race  placed  on  this  globe, 
should  have  been  inaugurated  by  this  marked 
demonstration  of  almighty  power  and  unsearcha- 
ble grace  !  So  far,  then,  as  the  science  of  nature 
can  speak,  its  testimony  is  clearly  in  favor  and 
support  of  the  wonderful  events  and  miraculous 
works  of  which  we  read  in  the  gospel. 


MIRACLES. 

That  the  miracles  related  in  the  gospel  were 
actually  performed  by  Jesus  of  Nazareth  is  a 
matter  of  fact,  and  is  capable  of  being  proved  by 
evidences  such  as  prove  any  other  facts  or  deeds 
or  historic  events,  namely,  by  the  testimony  of 
competent  and  credible  v/itnesses.  Now  for  esti- 
mating the  value  of  such  testimony  the  wisdom 
and  experience  of  judges  and  lawyers  have  laid 


94      NATURAL.  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

down  the  following  rules:  i.  Anything  capable 
of  being  proved  by  mere  testimony  is  credible  in 
proportion  to  the  opportunity  which  the  witness 
had  of  beiuQ;  well  informed  concernino:  it  himself 
and  his  freedom  from  any  bias  that  might  make 
him  wish  to  impose  upon  others.  2.  The  more 
persons  there  are  who  relate  the  same  transaction, 
of  which  they  are  equally  credible  witnesses,  the 
stronger  is  the  evidence  for  it.  3.  The  proper 
mark  or  criterion  of  the  truth  of  a  story,  being 
related  by  a  number  of  independent  witnesses  of 
full  credit,  is  their  complete  agreement  in  the 
principal  facts  or  arguments  and  their  disagree- 
ment with  respect  to  things  of  less  consequence, 
or  at  least  variety  or  diversity  in  their  manner  of 
relating  the  same  thing. 

Now,  judged  by  all  these  forensic  rules,  the 
testimony  that  goes  to  prove  the  truth  and  reality 
of  Christ's  miracles  is  the  most  satisfactory  and 
complete  that  can  be  given  or  desired,  i.  The 
witnesses  were  present  and  had  the  most  favorable 
opportunity  possible  to  see  them  performed  and 
afterwards  to  observe  and  test  their  effects;  and 
there  existed  no  promise  or  prospect  of  any  earth- 
ly advantage  to  bias  their  minds  or  to  induce 
them  to  depart  from  the  truth.  2.  These  wit- 
nesses were  not  two  or  three  only,  but  many,  even 
multitudes,  including  both  sexes  and  every  grade 


MIRACLES   O^   CHRIST.  95 

and  office  in  society.  3.  And  tlie  testimony  of 
all,  as  far  as  it  has  reached  us,  is  absolutely  one  in 
regard  to  the  principal  facts,  while  according  to 
their  several  points  of  view  they  vary  more  or 
less  as  to  the  number  and  order  of  the  mere  inci- 
dental circumstances  which  they  relate;  but  even 
in  this  variation  there  is  no  contradiction.  Thus, 
tested  by  the  severest  judicial  rules,  the  evidence 
w^e  have  for  the  miracles  of  Christ  is  such  as  would 
decide  the  most  momentous  issue  in  the  most 
cautious  and  rigid  court  of  justice.  It  would  de- 
termine every  fair  and  impartial  judge  Vv^hether 
he  should  give  sentence  for  life  or  for  death. 

THE  CRITERIA  OF  CHRIST'S   MIRACLES. 

The  measure  and  kind  of  evidence  that  will 
carry  conviction  in  regard  to  any  natural  act  or 
event  will  not  suffice,  with  many,  to  command 
belief  in  that  which  is  supernatural.  Hence  dis- 
believers in  the  supernatural  portions  of  the  gospel 
claim  that  an  act  or  event,  to  be  received  and 
credited  as  a  true  miracle,  must  possess  all  the  fol- 
lowing criteria,  or  characteristics. 

I.  A  miracle,  if  performed,  must  be  wrought 
for  an  important  end,  and  one  worthy  of  its  author. 

The  miracles  of  Christ  were  performed  to  at- 
test his  divine  commission,  to  alleviate  human 
misery,  and  to  illustrate  sacred  truths. 


9'J      NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

2.  An  act  to  be  accounted  and  received  as  a 
miracle  must  be  instantaneously  and  publicly  per- 
formed. 

In  tliis  very  manner  the  miracles  of  Jesus  were 
performed.  He  spake  the  word,  and  immediately 
the  sick  were  healed,  the  lame  walked,  and  the 
blind  received  sight,  and  this  in  the  presence  of 
enemies  as  well  as  friends,  at  marriage  and  fu- 
neral gatherings,  in  the  synagogues,  and  at  the 
public  festivals. 

3.  An  act  to  be  accepted  as  a  miracle  must  be 
such  as  the  senses  of  men  can  clearly  and  fully 
judge  of. 

And  such  were  the  miracles  of  Jesus  Christ; 
the  eyes  and  ears  and  hands  of  those  present  could 
test  them;  the  leper  cleansed,  the  paralytic  nerved 
with  strength,  and  the  dumb  speaking  were  facts 
of  which  the  senses  of  all  could  judge  and  decide. 

4.  An  act  to  be  a  true  miracle  must  be  inde- 
pendent of  second  or  natural  causes. 

The  miraculous  deeds  of  the  Saviour  were  al- 
together independent  of  such  causes;  to  still  the 
tempest,  to  walk  upon  the  sea,  and  to  raise  the 
dead  to  life  again  were  acts  which  no  natural  or 
second  causes  were  adequate  to  accomplish  or  in 
any  v/ay  account  for. 

5.  An  event  so  extraordinary  as  a  miracle 
could  hardly  fail  to  be  attested  by  some  abiding 


MIRACLES   OF  CHRIST.  97 

memorial  or  j)ublic  monument  of  its  performance, 
dating  from  the  time  it  took  place. 

The  miracles  of  Christ  are  attested  by  just 
such  evidence.  Many  of  the  subjects^  or  those  who 
experienced  the  benefit  of  them,  long  survived, 
and  thus  remained  among  men  living  and  public 
monuments  of  their  reality.  The  gospel  narratives 
of  these  miracles  were  also  written  and  published 
in  the  midst  of  the  very  people  who  had  witnessed 
them,  and  these  have  remained  public  memorials 
of  them  through  all  generations  since.  The 
Lord^s  Supper^  likewise,  was  instituted  in  com- 
memoration of  his  crucifixion,  and  as  a  sacred 
memorial  of  his  dying  love  has  ever  since  been 
devoutly  observed  in  every  land  by  all  his  follow- 
ers. And  shortly  after  his  resurrection  the  sacred 
day  of  rest  was  transferred  from  the  seventh  to  the 
first  day  of  the  week,  as  an  abiding  monument  of 
that,  the  greatest  of  all  miracles. 

Thus  we  find  that  the  mighty  works  and  signs 
wrought  by  our  blessed  Lord  are  marked  by  every 
criterion  and  possesss  every  characteristic  which 
even  a  skeptic  can  claim  for  what  he  would  ac- 
cept as  true  miracles. 

WITNESSES  FOR  THE  GREATEST  OF  GOSPEI. 
MIRACLES. 
Of  all  the  miracles  of  the  gospel  the  most  re- 


98      NATURAL  LAWS  AND  G03PKI.  TEACHINGS. 

markable  and  stupendous,  as  just  observed,  is  the 
resurrection  from  the  grave  of  Christ  himself. 
This  miracle  being  proved,  all  his  other  miracles 
are  proved  and  his  divine  mission  and  authority 
for  ever  established. 

That  Jesus  Christ  was  crucified,  and  that  he 
DIED  upon  the  cross  and  was  buried,  are  facts 
which  no  intelligent  person,  whether  a  Christian 
or  an  infidel,  now  questions.  The  evidence  for 
all  this  is  too  manifold  and  clear  to  be  doubted, 
for  the  chief  rulers  of  the  Jewish  nation  and  the 
Roman  governor  himself  were  parties  concerned. 
That  he  actually  and  truly  died  we  have  both 
natural  and  official  proof  of  the  most  conclusive 
character.  Not  only  did  he  hang  upon  the  cross 
in  extreme  agony  through  six  long  hours,  but  his 
side  was  pierced  with  a  spear,  inflicting  a  mortal 
wound  which  brought  forth  both  blood  and  water. 
The  soldiers  who  guarded  his  cross  were  fully 
convinced  that  he  was  dead  already,  and  for  this 
reason  they  brake  not  his  legs  as  they  did  those 
of  the  thieves  crucified  with  him.  And  Pilate, 
not  until  assured  by  the  centurion  that  he  was 
dead  past  all  doubt  would  he  allow  his  body  to  be 
taken  down.  His  enemies,  too,  the  chief  priests 
and  Pharisees,  were  fully  satisfied  that  he  had  ex- 
pired. And  even  his  friends,  who  clung  to  him 
to  the  last,  knowin»g  that  he  was  dead,  wound  him 


MIRACI.es  of  CHRIST.  99 

Up  in  linen  cloth,  as  was  the  custom  of  their  na- 
tion, and  laid  him  in  the  cold  sepulchre,  which 
they  closed  with  a  great  stone;  and  there,  under 
the  seal  and  guard  of  the  governor,  he  remained 
from  the  evening  of  Friday  until  the  morning  of 
the  first  day  of  the  next  week.  That  Christ  died 
and  was  buried,  therefore,  is  an  indisputable  fact. 
That  he  revived  and  ROSE  again  and  showed 
himself  alive  after  his  passion  is  also  a  fact  estab- 
lished by  many  and  infallible  proofs.  Eleven 
times,  it  is  recorded,  did  he  appear  to  the  disci- 
ples in  various  ways  and  at  different  times  and 
places.  He  was  seen  of  them  at  all  hours — early 
in  the  morning,  during  the  day,  and  in  the  even- 
ing. He  met  v/ith  them  in  localities  widely 
distant — in  the  garden,  in  the  chamber  at  Jerusa- 
lem, on  the  road  to  Bmmaus,  on  a  hill  in  Galilee, 
by  the  Sea  of  Tiberias,  and  on  the  Mount  of 
Olives.  He  ate  and  drank  and  conversed  witli 
them.  He  allowed  them  to  embrace  his  feet  and 
pay  to  him  the  homage  of  their  love.  He  exhib- 
ited to  them  the  print  of  the  nails  in  his  hands 
and  the  wound  of  the  spear  in  his  side.  He  in- 
vited them  to  examine  and  feel  his  person,  and 
even  to  put  their  fingers  into  his  yet  unclosed 
wounds,  in  order  to  remove  every  shade  of  doubt 
from  their  minds.  Such  were  the  numerous  and 
differing  and   abundant  proofs  he  gave  of  his 


lOO   NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

resurrection — proofs  that  rendered  it  impossible 
that  they  should  be  either  deceived  or  mistaken. 

That  the  disciples  were  thoroughly  convinced 
and  fully  believed  that  Christ  died  and  rose  again 
there  can  be  no  doubt,  for  of  this  they  gave  the 
most  unquestionable  proof  in  the  power  of  human 
beings  to  offer.  Influenced  by  the  most  unshaken 
confidence,  they  laid  aside  every  other  occupation 
and  interest  and  devoted  themselves  for  life  to 
proclaim  the  interesting  and  momentous  event  to 
the  world.  Voluntarily,  and  without  hope  or 
prospect  of  any  temporal  reward  or  advantage, 
they  exposed  themselves  to  toil  and  privation,  to 
hatred  and  reproach,  to  carry  the  glad  tidings  to 
as  many  of  their  fellow-creatures  as  they  could 
reach.  They  hesitated  at  no  sacrifice,  they  ex- 
cused themselves  from  no  labor  or  pains,  they 
shrank  from  no  dangers  or  terrors,  in  doing  this. 
They  persisted  in  their  assertion  that  "  Christ  was 
risen  indeed,"  in  the  face  of  all  manner  of  vio- 
lence and  persecution,  and  at  last  cheerfully  sealed 
their  testimony  with  their  blood.  And  in  view  of 
all  this  who  can  question  their  full  conviction  and 
unshaken  faith  ? 

Hume,  an  English  skeptic,  having  made  the 
assertion  that  no  amount  of  testimony  was  suffi- 
cient to  establish  such  an  event  as  the  resurrec- 
tion.  Dr.  Paley  replied  to  him  in  the  following 


MIRACLES   OF  CHRIST.  lOI 

striking  words:  "If  twelve  men,  whose  probity 
and  good  sense  I  had  long  known,  should  seri- 
ously and  circumstantially  relate  to  me  an  account 
of  a  miracle  wrought  before  their  eyes,  and  in 
which  it  was  impossible  they  could  be  deceived; 
if  the  governor  of  the  country,  hearing  a  rumor  of 
this  account,  should  call  these  men  into  his  pres- 
ence and  offer  them  a  short  proposal — either  to 
confess  the  imposture  or  submit  to  be  tied  up  to  a 
gibbet;  if  they  should  refuse  with  one  voice  to 
acknowledge  that  there  existed  any  falsehood  or 
imposture  in  the  case;  if  this  threat  Vv^as  commu- 
nicated to  them  separately,  yet  with  no  different 
effect;  if  it  was  at  last  executed;  if  I  myself  saw 
them,  one  after  another,  consenting  to  be  racked, 
burned,  or  strangled  rather  than  give  up  their 
account;  still,  if  Mr.  Hume's  rule  be  my  guide,  I 
am  not  to  believe  them.  Now  I  undertake  to  say 
that  there  exists  not  a  skeptic  in  the  world  who 
would  not  believe  them  or  who  would  defend 
such  incredulity." 

HISTORIC   EVIDENCE   FOR   CHRIST'S   MIRACLES. 

The  history  of  Christ's  ministry  and  resurrec- 
tion, and  of  the  labors  and  sacrifices  of  his  disci- 
ples in  publishing  it,  comes  down  to  us  in  the 
writings  of  no  less  than  sevefi  different  credible 
authors— Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  John,  Paul,  Pe- 


102    NATURAI.  LAWS  AND  GOSPKIv  TEACHINGS. 

ter,  and  James.  The  narratives  and  epistles  of 
these  were  penned  at  different  dates,  in  widely- 
separated  localities,  and  without  any  concert;  yet 
when  brought  together  and  compared  they  are 
found  to  agree  in  every  essential  point.  They 
have  been  subjected  to  a  severity  of  criticism  and 
scrutiny  which  have  been  applied  to  no  other 
historical  documents  in  existence,  and  have 
come  out  of  the  ordeal  with  their  genuineness 
unshaken  and  their  veracity  thoroughly  estab- 
lished. 

For  the  atithenticity  of  these  sacred  books  we 
have  an  unbroken  chain  of  evidence.  From  the 
very  time  that  they  were  written  down  to  our 
own  they  have  been  recognii^ed  and  quoted  as  au- 
thentic narratives  and  epistles.  Clement,  bishop 
of  Rome,  WTote  an  epistle  to  the  church  at  Cor- 
inth while  the  apostle  John  w^as  yet  living,  in 
which  he  makes  quotations  from  the  Gospels  of 
Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke,  and  also  from  the 
Epistles  of  Paul,  Peter,  and  James.  Barnabas,  a 
very  few  years  later,  wrote  an  epistle  in  which 
are  found  quotations  from  the  first  three  Gospels 
and  a  reference  to  the  fourth.  Next  we  have  the 
Epistle  of  Ignatius,  bishop  of  Antioch,  in  which 
he  cites  all  the  four  Gospels  and  refers  to  Paul's 
Epistle  to  the  Ephesians.  Polycarp,  who  was  per- 
sonally intimate  with  the  apostle  John,  wrote  a 


CHRIST'S    MIRACLES.  IO3 

letter  to  the  Phillppians,  in  which  he  refers  to 
Paul's  Epistle  to  that  church,  quotes  the  first 
three  Gospels  and  refers  to  the  fourth,  and  also 
quotes  passages  from  the  Acts  and  from  the  Epis- 
tles of  Paul,  Peter,  and  Jude.  Irenaeus,  a  pupil  of 
Poly  carp,  cites  passages  from  all  the  books  of  the 
New  Testament.  Papias,  a  pupil  of  those  who 
had  listened  to  the  apostles,  composed  a  Harmony 
of  the  four  Gospels.  TertuUian,  writing  from  one 
hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  after  the 
Gospels  had  been  published,  with  full  access  to 
proofs  of  their  genuineness,  supplies  us  with  a 
brief  abstract  of  nearly  all  the  books  of  the  New 
Testament,  which  proves  that  those  books  are 
precisely  the  same  as  those  we  now  have.  De- 
scending further  with  time,  corroborative  author- 
ities become  too  numerous  to  be  named.  Such  is 
a  short  summary  of  the  historic  evidence  for  the 
genuineness  and  authenticity  of  the  narratives  of 
the  life  of  Christ  and  of  the  epistles  of  the  first 
preachers  of  the  gospel. 

It  must  be  manifest  hence  to  every  unpreju- 
diced and  candid  mind  that,  if  we  have  any  au- 
thentic and  reliable  records  of  the  past,  those  of 
the  New  ^Testament  are  such;  and  that,  if  the 
afCts  or  events  recorded  in  any  ancient  history  are 
to  be  received,  the  acts  and  events  related  in  the 
Christian  Gospels  and  Epistles  are  to  be  received 


I04    NATURAI.  T^AWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

with  unhesitating  confidence.  We  cannot  reject 
these  without  also  casting  aside  all  history  for  the 
same  reason.  But  no  man  of  sense  does  this  or 
thinks  of  doinsf  it. 

Secular  history  is  read  with  general  interest 
because  it  is  generally  believed.  The  great  events, 
great  actors,  and  great  deeds  which  it  relates  are 
regarded  and  accepted  as  unquestionable  facts. 
History  tells  us  that  there  were  such  cities  as  Nin- 
eveh, Babylon,  and  Tyre,  and  describes  their  ex- 
tent, wealth,  and  grandeur ;  and  though  every 
vestige  of  their  magnificence  had  disappeared 
from  the  face  of  the  earth  twenty  centuries  ago, 
yet  we  do  not  doubt  that  there  were  such  cities. 
Xenophon  relates  that  Alexander  conquered  Per- 
sia, Julius  Caesar  that  he  invaded  Britain,  and 
Josephus  that  Herod  reigned  over  Judaea;  and  we 
never  think  of  questioning  the  truth  of  these 
events.  History  relates  the  fame  of  Demosthenes 
as  an  orator,  of  Virgil  as  a  poet,  and  of  Cicero  as 
a  statesman;  and  no  scholar  doubts  either  the  ex- 
istence or  the  celebrity  of  these  characters.  Pliny 
mentions  and  describes  a  terrific  eruption  of  Vesu- 
vius in  the  first  century,  which  overwhelmed  the 
cities  of  Pompeii  and  Herculaneum,  and  Ammia- 
nas  a  fearful  earthquake  in  the  fourth  century 
that  violently  shook  the  greater  part  of  the  Ro- 
man world;  and  no  one  disputes  the  truthfulness 


CHRIST'S    MIRACLES  IO5 

of  these  statements.  Tyclio  Bralie  relates  that 
one  night,  in  1572,  he  saw  a  star  flash  forth  in 
great  brilliancy  in  the  constellation  of  Cassiopeia, 
which,  after  the  lapse  of  some  eighteen  months, 
ntterly  vanished ;  and  Brunouski  that,  in  1606, 
he  observed  a  similar  star  in  Ophiuchus,  which 
sparkled  with  an  interchange  of  colors  like  a  dia- 
mond, and  after  shining  for  a  whole  year  faded 
and  died  away.  Neither  of  these  stars  had  b-^en 
observed  before  and  neither  of  them  has  been  seen 
since;  and  yet,  exceptional  as  were  these  occur- 
rences, none  of  our  astronomers  doubt  the  truth  of 
the  account  given  of  them.  Such  is  the  general 
faith  of  men  in  secular  history. 

Now  none  of  the  historians  who  relate  the 
above  facts,  nor  any  other  historians,  ever  gave 
such  decisive  proofs  of  their  truthfulness  and  hon- 
esty as  did  the  disciples  of  Jesus,  none  of  their 
works  have  been  so  closely  and  repeatedly  stud- 
ied, none  subjected  to  such  severe  criticism,  and 
none  have  sustained  such  vigorous  ordeals  as  the 
Gospels  and  Epistles,  and  none  of  them  are  sup- 
ported by  corroborations  so  numerous  and  diversi- 
fied as  are  these  sacred  documents.  If,  therefore, 
any  history  in  existence  is  worthy  of  faintest  cred- 
it, surely  the  history  which  has  come  down  to  us 
from  the  pens  of  the  evangelists  and  apostles,  re- 
cording the  ministry,  the  miracles,  and  the  resur- 


Io6    NATURAI,  LAWS  AND  GOSPKIv  TEACHINGS. 

rection  of  Jesus  Christ,  is  entitled  to  our  unquali- 
fied confidence  and  faith. 

TIIK  CHARACTER  OE  CHRIST  AN    EVIDENCE   EOR 
HIS   MIRACIvES. 

If  any  further  argument  need  be  offered  in 
proof  of  the  gospel  miracles  we  have  it  in  the  life 
and  character  of  Him  who  wrought  them.  The 
personal  character  which  Christ  sustained  and  the 
divine  doctrine  which  he  taught  were  worthy  of 
the  seal  of  the  miracles  which  are  ascribed  to  him. 
That  was  a  sound  arsfument  which  Nicodemus 
employed  in  his  address  to  the  Saviour,  and  all 
the  aofes  have  felt  its  force  and  reechoed  its  senti- 
ment:  ''Rabbi,  we  know  that  thou  art  a  teacher 
come  from  God,  for  no  man  can  do  these  miracles 
that  thou  doest  except  God  be  with  him."  And 
that  God  was  with  him  as  with  no  other  is  what 
he  claimed  and  what  he  abundantly  proved.  His 
pure,  wise,  and  sinless  life,  from  its  beginning  to 
its  close,  was  a  demonstration  of  it.  Never  man 
spake  and  never  man  lived  as  he  did.  This  stands 
confessed  alike  by  friend  and  foe.  He  was  the 
same  in  life  as  in  doctrine — holy,  harmless,  and 
undefiled.  By  his  daily  conduct  as  well  as  by 
his  words  he  rebuked  all  that  was  ungodly,  im- 
pure, and  false  among  men.  He  was  ever  wise 
and  calm  and  consistent.     He  never  had  to  retract 


I07 

a  word  or  regret  a  deed  or  to  ask  pardon  of  God 
or  man.  Intellectually  and  morally,  socially  and 
personally,  in  relation  to  his  kindred  or  disciples, 
to  tlie  friends  or  the  enemies  of  his  ministry,  he 
ever  rose  to  the  highest  idea  that  we  can  form  of 
a  perfect  man.  He  was  generous  in  the  midst  of 
the  selfish,  upright  in  the  midst  of  the  dishonest, 
pure  in  the  midst  of  the  sensual,  and  wise  far 
above  the  wisest  of  earth's  sages  or  prophets.  His 
love  for  sinful  man  never  wavered  and  his  devotion 
to  the  Holy  Father  never  flagged  or  fluctuated. 
At  all  times  and  in  all  places  we  find  him  the  same 
meek,  pure,  wise,  and  godlike  Being. 

But,  to  avoid  all  suspicion  of  bias  or  partiality, 
we  let  those  speak  of  his  life  and  character  who 
cannot  be  charged  with  either,  and  of  these  the 
competency  of  the  following  as  judges  will  not  be 
questioned. 

Goethe,  who  characterizes  himself  as  a  deci- 
ded non-Christian,  says,  "The  human  mind,  no 
matter  how  much  it  may  advance  in  intellectual 
culture  and  in  the  extent  and  depth  of  the  knowl- 
edge of  nature,  will  never  transcend  the  height 
and  moral  culture  of  Christianity  as  it  shines  and 
glows  in  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ." 

Rousseau:  "I  confess  that  the  purity  of  the 
gospel  has  its  influence  on  my  heart.  Is  it  possi- 
ble that  a  book  at  once  so  simple  and  sublime 


Io8     NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

should  be  merely  the  work  of  man  ?  Is  it  possi- 
ble that  the  sacred  personage  whose  history  it 
contains  should  be  himself  a  mere  man  ?  What 
sweetness,  what  purity,  in  his  manners!  What  an 
affecting  gracefulness  in  his  delivery  !  What  sub- 
limity in  his  maxims!  What  profound  wisdom 
in  his  discourses !  What  presence  of  mind  in  his 
replies !  How  great  the  command  over  his  pas- 
sions! Where  is  the  man,  where  the  philoso- 
pher, who  could  so  live  and  so  die  without  weak- 
ness and  without  ostentation?  If  the  life  and 
death  of  Socrates  were  those  of  a  sage,  the  life 
and  death  of  Jesus  were  those  of  a  God.'^ 

Strauss:  "Jesus  represents  within  the  sphere 
of  religion  the  culmination  point,  beyond  which 
posterity  can  never  go,  yea,  which  it  cannot  even 
equal.  He  remains  the  highest  model  of  religion 
within  the  reach  of  our  thouo:hts." 

Renan:  "Whatever  may  be  the  surprises  of 
the  future,  Jesus  will  never  be  surpassed.  His 
worship  v/ill  grow  young  without  ceasing;  his 
legend  will  call  forth  tears  without  end;  his  suf- 
ferings will  melt  the  noblest  hearts;  all  ages  will 
proclaim  that  among  the  sons  of  men  there  is 
none  born  greater  than  Jesus." 

Such  being  the  character  of  Jesus,  his  enemies 
being  judges,  we  cannot  but  accept  his  word  and 
admit  his  miracles. 


answe:r  to  prayer.  109 


PART   III. 

NATURAL  LAWS  AND  ANSWER  TO  PRAYER. 

Prayer  is  the  appeal  of  weakness  to  strength, 
of  indigence  to  sufficiency,  of  guilt  to  mercy.  In 
other  words,  prayer  is  a  sense  of  want  addressed 
humbly  and  devoutly  to  God  in  hope  of  relief. 
The  act  of  praying,  therefore,  implies  three  things: 
belief  in  the  presence  and  agency  of  God  in  the 
world,  confession  of  dependence  on  him,  and  faith 
in  his  power  to  grant  what  is  asked  for.  Hence 
prayer  is  a  most  solemn  act  of  worship. 

PRAYER  A   duty  AND   A   PRIVILEGE. 

In  the  Scriptures  we  are  taught  that  it  is 
God's  appointment  that  men  should  pray  for  all 
the  blessings  they  need,  temporal  as  well  as  spir- 
itual, and  that  it  is  his  good  pleasure  to  grant 
them  in  answer  to  their  supplications.  Prayer  is 
a  prime  doctrine  of  the  Christian  system  and  its 
spirit  an  essential  element  in  the  Christian  char- 
acter. To  every  true  disciple  of  Christ  it  is  both 
a  duty  and  a  privilege.  Its  unremitting  exercise 
insures  to  him  the  highest  benefits.  Accordingly 
the  Scriptures  of  the  New  Testament  abound  with 


no    NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPElv  TEACHINGS. 

precepts  directing  us  to  pray,  with  forms  and  ex- 
amples teaching  us  how  to  pray,  and  with  para- 
bles and  promises  encouraging  us  to  persevere  in 
prayer.  No  duty  is  more  emphatically  enjoined 
than  prayer,  and  no  blessing  or  benefit  is  more 
positively  promised  than  answer  to  prayer.  Thus 
we  read: 

"Men  ought  always  to  pray."  "If  we  ask 
anything  according  to  His  will,  he  heareth  us." 
"Ask,  and  ye  shall  receive;  seek,  and  ye  shall 
find;  knock,  and  it  shall  be  opened  unto  you." 
"All  things  whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  in  prayer, 
believing,  ye  shall  receive."  "The  same  I^ord 
over  all  is  rich  unto  all  that  call  upon  him." 

Broad  and  general  as  are  these  precepts  and 
promises,  we  are  not  to  infer  from  them  that  every 
petition,  though  offered  in  the  right  spirit,  shall 
be  answered  in  the  precise  manner  or  measure  or 
time  we  ask.  We  may  in  our  ignorance  ask 
amiss,  and  infinite  wisdom  may  see  that  our  re- 
quest is  not  for  our  good,  and  infinite  love,  there- 
fore, may  choose  to  answer  differently.  They 
who  pray  aright  ever  recognize  this;  they  believe 
that  God  is  wiser  than  they  and  desire  him  to  take 
his  own  wiser  way  in  bestowing  what  they  need. 
They  defer  all  to  his  wisdom  and  love.  To  such 
as  pray  in  this  spirit  the  answer  is  infallible: 
they  shall  have  either  what  they  ask  or  that  which 


ANSWER  TO   PRAYER.  Ill 

is  better.  If  the  desired  good  be  not  granted,  or 
if  the  deprecated  evil  be  not  averted  or  removed, 
in  virtue  of  prayer,  the  privations  or  afflictions 
they  are  left  to  endure  shall  work  in  them  spirit- 
ual graces  for  which  no  amount  of  earthly  suffer- 
ing can  be  too  great  a  price.  And  thus  in  the 
end  it  shall  be  made  manifest  that  no  true  prayer 
has  ever  been  uttered  or  breathed  in  vain. 

OBJECTIONS   URGED  AGAINST  PRAYER. 

Plainly  as  the  duty  of  prayer  is  enjoined,  and 
positively  as  answer  to  prayer  is  promised  in  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  there  are  found  at  the  present 
day  a  class  of  physical  philosophers  who  do  not 
hesitate  to  deny  both.  Prayer,  they  tell  us,  can 
produce  no  objective  results,  and  its  influence,  if 
it  has  any,  must  be  purely  a  subjective  one;  in 
other  words,  prayer,  when  it  is  sincere  and  fer- 
vent, may  work  beneficial  results  in  ourselves  by 
calling  into  activity  various  good  feelings  and 
aflfections,  but  it  can  effect  no  change,  produce 
no  good  external  to  ourselves.  This  objection  is 
based  on  the  conception  that  God,  having  created 
matter  with  its  various  properties  and  forces,  im- 
pressed upon  them  once  for  all  their  invariable 
laws;  and  that,  having  thus  once  set  them  in  mo- 
tion, they  go  on  for  ever  grinding  out  their  results 
with  the  uniformity  and  precision  of  a  machine, 


112    NATURAL,  I.AWS  AND  GOSPEI.  TEACHINGS. 

with  the  action  of  which  he  never  interferes  or 
concerns  himself.  It  is  alleged  that  scientific  ob- 
servations and  experiments  prove  that  the  forces, 
laws,  and  order  of  nature  are  invariable  and  have 
never  once  been  interfered  with  by  any  act  or  vo- 
lition of  the  Almighty.  From  this  it  is  held  to 
follow  that  the  prayers  of  men  can  exert  no  influ- 
ence on  the  Being  who  created  and  established 
the  universe  to  induce  him  to  suspend  or  vary  or 
modify  any  of  its  operations,  and  that  therefore  to 
offer  prayer,  for  any  material  good  at  least,  is  but 
pious  folly:  the  laws  of  nature  are  immutable. 

On  this  ground  it  is  asserted  that  human  sup- 
plications, however  earnest  or  persevering,  can 
have  no  efficacy  outside  of  ourselves,  can  have  no 
influence  to  procure  any  external  benefits,  can 
bring  no  material  good,  can  ward  off  no  physical 
evil;  in  brief,  prayer  can  in  no  wise  change  or 
aff*ect  man's  earthly  lot.  Prof  Tyndall,  speak- 
ing with  reference  to  the  pious  habit  of  the  Tyrol- 
ese  in  offering  annual  prayer  for  favorable  weather 
and  a  fruitful  season,  says,  "Science  asserts  that 
without  a  disturbance  of  natural  law  quite  as  seri- 
ous as  the  stoppage  of  an  eclipse  or  the  rolling  of 
the  St.  Lawrence  up  the  Falls  of  Niagara  no  act 
of  humiliation,  individual  or  national,  could  call 
one  shower  from  heaven  or  deflect  towards  us  a 
single  beam  of  the  sun."     Again,  speaking  of  the 


ANSWER  TO   PRAYER.  II3 

cholera,  the  same  authority  says,  "To  alter  by 
prayer  the  consequences  of  this  or  any  similar 
fact,  to  deprive  by  petition  a  single  molecule  of 
miasmatic  matter  of  its  properties,  would,  in  the 
eye  of  science,  be  as  much  a  miracle  as  to  make 
the  sun  and  moon  stand  still.  For  one  of  these 
results  neither  of  us  would  pray ;  on  the  same 
grounds  I  refuse  to  pray  for  either. ' '  Hence  it  ap- 
pears that,  in  the  estimation  and  according  to  the 
teaching  of  this  school  of  scientists,  prayer  for  daily 
bread  or  against  famine,  for  health  or  against  dis- 
ease, for  safety  or  against  destruction,  for  prosper- 
ity or  against  adversity,  are  equally  fruitless  and 
can  proceed  only  from  ignorance  or  superstition. 

If  the  view  entertained  and  thus  boldly  set 
forth  by  these  objectors  be  correct,  then  the  teach- 
ings of  Jesus  Christ  cannot  be  correct,  cannot  be 
true,  for  he  instructs  and  commands  us  to  pray  for 
our  daily  bread,  for  deliverance  from  evil,  for  re- 
covery from  sickness,  for  protection  amid  danger, 
and  for  the  supply  of  all  our  wants.  To  which, 
then,  shall  we  listen?  whom  shall  we  follow? 
Those  who  have  slowly  and  painfully  crept  up  to 
an  imperfect  acquaintance  with  some  of  the  work- 
ings of  nature's  laws?  or  Him  at  whose  girdle  hung 
the  key  of  all  knowledge?  Those  who  by  their 
own  confession  have  no  practical  or  personal  expe- 
rience of  prayer?  or  Him  who  was  the  purest  and 

Natural  Laws.  8 


114    NATURAI.  LAWS  AND  GOSPFX  TEACHINGS. 

loftiest  mor.al  character  the  world  has  ever  seen, 
and  who  could  lift  up  his  eyes  to  heaven  and  say, 
'' Father,  I  thank  thee  that  thou  hast  heard  me, 
and  I  know  that  thou  hearest  me  always  "  ? 

As  the  precepts  and  instructions  of  the  Great 
Teacher  are  in  perfect  harmony  with  the  law  of 
morals,  so  will  they  ever  be  found  with  the  laws 
of  nature  when  these  are  rightly  interpreted. 
What  is  in  harmony  with  the  former  cannot  be  at 
variance  with  the  latter,  for  both  have  proceeded 
from  "  the  one  Lawgiver. " 

PRAYER  THE  VOICE  O^   NATURE. 

Nature  throughout  her  animated  domain  is 
constituted  on  the  principle  of  prayer,  and  the 
whole  organisation  of  that  domain  clearly  exhib- 
its specific  provisions  made  for  answering  prayer. 
Without  prayer  and  answer  to  prayer  the  course 
of  the  animate  creation  as  now  established  would 
be  deranged  and  fail  of  its  most  important  ends, 
as  may  easily  be  shown. 

As  already  defined,  prayer  is  the  cry  of  want 
or  distress,  whether  articulate  or  inarticulate  in 
its  expression.  Now  the  animal  world  is  full  of 
such  prayers  and  full  of  provisions  to  insure  im- 
mediate answers  to  them.  The  young  brood  cry 
for  food  or  for  protection  from  an  approaching 
enemy;  the   parent  bird   hears  and  understands 


ANSWER   TO    PRAYER.  II5 

that  cry  and  is  endowed  with  an  instinct  that 
prompts  it  instantly  to  answer  it.  The  lamb 
bleats,  and  its  cry  not  only  brings  its  dam  to  its 
side,  but  also  causes  a  more  rapid  flow  of  milk 
to  answer  that  bleating.  The  lagging  little  calf 
about  to  be  pounced  upon  by  a  wolf  bellows  for 
help,  and  instantly  the  whole  herd  by  an  impulse 
of  their  nature  rush  to  his  defence.  But  for  such 
answers  to  animal  prayers  the  races  would  soon 
die  out.  Again,  the  little  babe  cries  for  nourish- 
ment or  for  help,  and  instinctively  the  sympathies 
and  muscles  of  the  mother  are  moved  to  respond 
to  the  call  in  the  most  tender  and  loving  manner. 
A  human  being  whose  life  is  imperilled  by  fire  or 
flood  cries  for  help  in  his  distress,  and  his  fellow- 
creatures  by  a  law  of  their  being  are  roused  to 
exertion  and  to  courage  that  brave  all  dangers  to 
rescue  him.  An  exploring  vessel  with  its  brave 
officers  and  crew  is  frozen  up  and  imprisoned  in 
the  distant  and  inhospitable  regions  of  the  Pole; 
a  whole  year  passes  away  without  a  word  of 
tidings  from  them;  at  length  anxiety  and  alarm 
are  felt  for  their  safety,  and  presently  the  suffer- 
ers' prayers,  though  all  unheard,  move  nations  to 
pour  tens  and  hundreds  of  thousands  from  their 
treasuries  to  send  expeditions  by  sea  and  land  for 
their  deliverance.  Thus  we  find  that  prayer  is 
offered  and  answered  in  one  way  or  another  by 


Il6    NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

an  ordinance  of  nature  among  all  animated  be- 
ings, from  the  lowest  to  the  highest.  And  can 
we  suppose  that  the  great  Father  of  all,  who  has 
instituted  this  benevolent  arrangement  among  his 
creatures  and  implanted  in  them  this  instinct  to 
answer  prayer,  is  himself  deaf  to  the  voice  of 
prayer  when  appealed  to  by  his  earthly  children  ? 
Assuredly  not;  for  then  the  voice  of  nature  would 
contradict  the  voice  of  her  Maker  and  belie  his 
character  to  the  delusion  of  his  creatures. 

Man,  by  nature,  is  a  religious  being.  ''Our 
religious  nature,"  says  Prof.  Le  Conte,  "is  a  fact, 
an  undoubted  scientific  verity.  Even  the  materi- 
alist must  admit  it."  Prayer  is  a  natural  impulse 
in  man;  he  is  born  with  it.  Hence  prayer  has 
been  so  general  a  practice  of  the  race  through  all 
the  periods  of  its  history,  and  is  so  universal  a 
practice  now,  that  it  may  be  safely  asserted  that 
with  mankind  at  large  it  is  the  rule  and  prayer- 
lessness  the  rare  exception.  Possibly  a  few  of  the 
lowest  and  most  degraded  tribes  on  the  one  hand, 
and  a  few  materialistic  theorists  on  the  other,  may 
never  pray;  but  the  mass  of  mankind  recognize  a 
higher  Being,  or  beings,  with  whom  they  seek 
communication  by  prayer.  Prayerlessness,  like 
atheism,  is  nowhere  met  with  except  in  an  erratic 
condition.  In  all  regions  and  in  all  ages  the 
great  body  of  the  earth's  population  have  instinc- 


Answer  to  prayer.  117 

lively  looked  up  for  relief  in  their  distresses  to  the 
Power,  or  powers,  they  conceived  to  be  above 
them.  Erroneous  and  crude  their  conceptions  of 
that  Power  may  have  been,  and  sensual  and  grov- 
elling the  desires  that  inspired  them,  yet  in  one 
spirit  or  another  prayer  million-voiced  has  ever 
ascended  from  every  inhabited  quarter  of  the 
globe. 

Prayer,  then,  it  may  be  truly  said,  is  'Uhe 
voice  of  nature,"  the  instinctive  cry  of  creature 
weakness  and  dependence.  In  pressing  need,  in 
imminent  danger  or  helpless  suffering,  the  deep- 
est and  the  strongest  feelings  of  the  human  heart 
prompt  to  prayer.  When  earthly  comforts  flee, 
when  help  from  man  fails,  when  hope  from  the 
V\^orld  is  vanishing,  the  mind  of  its  own  prompt- 
ings rises  above  every  creature  relation  and  goes 
out  beyond  all  that  is  visible  for  the  succor  which 
it  needs.  In  such  circumstances  the  innate  reli- 
gious sentiment  of  the  soul  is  aroused  and  address- 
es  itself  to  God,  and  looks  to  him  alone  for  relief. 
This  feeling  is  universal,  is  a  general  fact  of  na- 
ture, as  clearly  recognizable  as  the  action  of  heat 
or  the  force  of  gravitation.  In  every  region  of 
the  earth,  where  the  Bible  is  and  where  it  is  not, 
man's  heart  in  one  way  or  another  cries  out  for 
the  living  God. 

What  has  been  thus  so  deeply  and  so  univer- 


Il8  NATURAI.  T.AWS  AND  GOSPEIv  TEACHINGS. 

sally  implanted  by  the  Creator  in  the  heart  of  man 
must  be  in  harmony  with  His  arrangements  of  the 
world  around  him  and  with  the  principles  of  His 
government  over  him;  for  there  are  no  jars,  no 
gaps,  no  discordant  or  disconnected  parts,  in  the 
system  of  his  creation.  Inborn  religious  senti- 
ment prompting  to  prayer  is  a  veritable  element 
in  that  system,  is  an  actual  fact  in  the  universe; 
and  therefore  must  be  in  harmony  with  the  laws 
of  the  universe. 

If  God  has  so  constituted  his  creature  man  that 
he  naturally  and  instinctively  turns  to  Him  in  his 
wants  and  extremities,  we  may  be  sure  that  a  due 
provision  has  been  made  whereby  his  prayers  may 
be  answered,  unless  we  believe  that  this  religious 
instinct  has  been  given  to  deceive  and  delude 
him,  given  to  excite  hopes  that  must  end  in  the 
sadness  of  disappointment.  But  this  would  be  an 
aspersion  of  both  the  wisdom  and  the  goodness  of 
the  Creator.  In  all  nature  we  find  no  faculty,  no 
organ,  no  appetite,  for  the  exercise  and  gratifica- 
tion of  which  due  and  fitting  provision  has  not 
been  made.  God  had  never  implanted  the  cra- 
vings of  hunger  and  thirst  had  he  not  also  provided 
means  to  satisfy  them;  he  had  never  formed  the 
lungs  had  he  not  likewise  created  the  atmosphere 
to  fill  them;  and  he  had  not  formed  the  eye  if 
there  existed  no  lieht  to  illumine  it.     So  the  all- 


ANSWER  TO   TRAYKR.  II9 

wise  and  loving  Father  of  all  would  never  have 
implanted  these  promptings  to  prayer  in  the  hu- 
man breast  had  he  not  also  ordained  a  way  and 
means  to  answer  these  prayers.  To  imbue  man 
with  a  religious  sentiment  that  quickens  him  to 
cry  unto  God,  and  then  place  him  in  a  world  un- 
der the  control  of  a  set  of  unconscious  forces  and 
inflexible  lav/s  that  admit  not  of  an  answer  to 
those  cries,  would  be  as  though  the  Creator  had 
implanted  in  the  new-born  infant  the  strong  and 
craving  instinct  which  leads  it  to  seek  and  to 
draw  the  mother's  breast,  while  he  had  so  formed 
that  breast  that  not  a  drop  of  milk  could  ever  flow 
into  it  or  out  of  it.  Thus,  nature  herself  not  only 
repudiates  the  charge  that  her  laws  forbid  an  an- 
swer to  the  prayers  of  men,  but  also  gives  assu- 
rance that  the  ear  of  their  Father  in  heaven  is  ever 
open  to  hear  and  his  heart  ever  ready  to  answer 
them  as  may  be  for  their  best  welfare. 

Leaving  the  evidence  thus  supplied  by  general 
principles  and  the  established  order  of  nature,  we 
now  advance  to  an  argument  of  a  more  direct 
character,  and  shall  show  that  the  fixedness  or 
uniformity  of  nature's  laws,  even  as  view^ed  by 
the  materialist,  offer  no  impediment  to  the  an- 
swering of  the  most  important  prayers  offered  by 
the  Christian  in  their  full  and  literal  import. 


I20  NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TKACIIINGS. 
PRAYER  ANSWERED  BY  INFLUENCE  ON  MINDS. 

The  most  important  and  most  numerous  class 
of  prayers  offered  by  the  Christian  may  be  an- 
swered by  direct  spiritual  influence  on  the  mind — 
the  mind  of  him  who  prays  or  the  minds  of  those 
for  whom  prayer  is  made.  And  all  such  answers 
are  independent  of  all  physical  laws  and  lie  with- 
out their  sphere  or  dominion. 

That  mind  can  act  upon  mind  and  spirit  in- 
fluence spirit  are  facts  that  need  no  proof,  for  we 
daily  observe  them  between  man  and  man.  And 
to  such  influence  the  laws  of  matter  present  no 
hindrance;  they  neither  affect  it  nor  are  affected 
by  it.  When,  for  example,  the  gospel  preacher 
or  the  philosophical  lecturer,  by  his  presentation 
of  truths  or  facts  or  motives,  so  far  influences  the 
minds  of  the  whole  audience  before  him  as  to 
change  their  views  and  principles  and  actions  for 
all  time  to  come,  the  laws  of  nature  are  in  nowise 
involved  in  this  mental  change.  The  laws  of 
matter  and  the  laws  of  mind  are  essentially  dif- 
ferent and  distinct,  and  the  action  of  the  latter 
neither  clashes  nor  interferes  with  that  of  the 
former. 

Now,  the  orator  exerts  such  influence  by  open- 
ing the  mental  eye  of  those  who  listen  to  him  to 
see  things  in  a  different  light,  and  by  transmit- 


ANSWER  TO   PRAYER.  121 

ting  in  some  mysterious  way  his  own  emotions 
and  sympathies,  his  own  spirit,  into  their  hearts. 
The  speaker  affects  the  hearer  by  sympathy  as 
well  as  by  reasoning.  And  thus  one  mind  has 
often  been  observed  to  sway  the  minds  of  a  whole 
multitude  as  sways  the  wind  a  whole  forest. 

If  then  the  finite  mind  of  man  can  thus  influ- 
ence the  minds  of  others,  much  more  can  the  Infi- 
nite Mind  influence  the  minds  of  all  his  creatures. 
And  as  the  laws  of  the  physical  world  do  not 
dominate  in  the  mental  and  moral  world,  He  can 
do  this  without  the  slightest  interference  with  the 
established  order  of  material  nature.  As  he  is 
ever  present  wdth  each  human  soul  and  intimate- 
ly conversant  w4th  all  its  hidden  springs  of 
thought  and  emotion,  he  can  impart  light  or  sug- 
gest ideas  or  present  motives  or  rouse  feelings 
such  as  may  decide  the  judgment,  influence  the 
heart,  and  determine  the  actions  of  any  living 
man,  and  that  without  in  any  degree  forcing  his 
will  or  violating  his  free  moral  agency.  Now^  the 
bearing  of  this  indisputable  truth  on  answer  to 
prayer  is  very  broad,  much  broader  indeed  than 
many  seem  to  apprehend.  We  shall  here,  there- 
fore, by  way  of  illustration,  apply  it  to  several 
classes  of  prayer. 

I.  Prayer  for  purely  spiritual  blessings.  These 
are  what  occupy  the  foremost  place  in  the  Chris- 


122    NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

tian's  supplications:  the  pardon  of  sin,  the  growth 
of  faith  and  love,  the  increase  of  spiritual  strength 
to  struggle  successfully  against  temptation,  wis- 
dom to  fulfil  all  duty,  and  grace  to  bring  all  in- 
ward desires  and  propensities  into  conformity 
with  the  will  of  God.  These  are  the  burden  of 
his  prayers  and  hold  the  first  and  highest  place  in 
his  mind  as  he  bends  his  knees  before  the  Father 
of  mercies.  Now,  as  all  these  are  gracious  bless- 
ings proceeding  from  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God  and 
received  into  the  waiting  spirit  of  man,  it  is  obvi- 
ous that  all  prayers  offered  for  them  can  be  an- 
swered without  the  slightest  intervention  with 
any  of  the  laws  or  forces  of  material  nature. 

2.  Prayer  for  the  conversion  of  sinners.  This, 
both  in  its  nature  and  object,  is  the  same  as  the 
preceding;  it  is  asking  that  the  same  blessings  we 
seek  for  ourselves  may  be  bestowed  upon  others. 
Answer  to  these  prayers,  therefore,  involves  no 
more  interference  with  natural  laws  than  the 
former;  neither  does  it  require  any  infringement 
on  the  freedom  of  the  will  in  those  for  whom 
prayer  is  offered.  As  we,  by  instruction  or  per- 
suasion, can  influence  the  mind  and  change  the 
conduct  of  our  friends  without  violating  their  free 
will,  so  God,  in  answer  to  our  prayers,  can  by  his 
Spirit  enlighten  the  minds  and  move  the  hearts 
of  men,  and  thus  influence  them  to  pursue  a  course 


ANSWER  TO  PRAYER.  1 23 

of  holy  living  without  in  any  sense  affecting  their 
freedom.  And  that  such  gracious  influence  has 
often  followed  the  prayers  of  Christians  abundant 
evidence  might  readily  be  given. 

3.  Prayer  for  the  prosperity  of  benevolent  institn- 
tions.  This  likewise  may  be  answered  by  favor- 
iuQf  influence  on  human  minds.  Take,  for  exam- 
l^le,  a  missionary  society.  Prayers  for  this  may 
be  answered  by  influencing  the  minds  of  men  to 
contribute  liberally  of  their  substance  for  its  sup- 
port, by  influencing  the  minds  of  its  missionaries 
as  they  deliver  the  message  of  the  gospel,  and  by 
influencing  the  minds  of  the  heathen  as  they  lis- 
ten to  it.    So  of  seminaries,  colleges,  hospitals,  etc. 

4.  Prayer  for  the  defeat  of  the  ptirposes  and  plots 
of  iniqttity.  History  abounds  with  instances  where 
such  prayer  has  been  signally  answered  by  im- 
pressions made  on  the  minds  of  men.  The  inhu- 
man purpose  of  Jacob's  sons  to  kill  their  younger 
brother  Joseph,  by  an  impression  first  on  the  mind 
of  Reuben  and  then  on  that  of  Judah,  was  not 
only  frustrated  but  made  to  pave  the  way  for  that 
brother's  high  promotion  in  the  land  of  Egypt.  A 
tender  impression  made,  in  answer  to  the  prayers 
of  Amram  and  Jochebed,  on  the  mind  of  Pharaoh's 
daughter  through  the  tears  and  beauty  of  the  babe 
Moses  not  only  defeated  the  cruel  edict  that 
doomed  him  to  perish  in    the  Nile,  but  secured 


124  NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TOACHINGS. 

for  him  a  princely  education,  whicli  fitted  him  to 
become  the  future  leader  and  lawgiver  of  Israel. 
Haman's  plot  to  cut  off  all  the  Jews  throughout 
Persia  in  one  day,  in  answer  to  Esther's  prayers 
and  fasting  was  foiled  through  a  powerful  impres- 
sion made  on  the  mind  of  King  Ahasuerus,  which 
took  from  him  even  his  sleep.  Herod's  murder- 
ous design  to  destroy  the  infant  Saviour  was  de- 
feated by  an  impression  made  on  the  mind  of 
Joseph  in  a  dream.  The  soldiers'  counsel  to  kill 
Paul  together  with  all  the  other  prisoners  was  set 
aside  by  a  friendly  impression  wrought  on  the 
mind  of  the  centurion.  The  "Gunpowder  Plot" 
to  blow  up  the  whole  English  Parliament  was  dis- 
covered and  defeated  by  a  mysterious  impression 
made  on  the  mind  of  lyord  Monteagle.  The  life 
of  Howard,  the  great  philanthropist,  was  saved 
from  the  assassin's  dagger  by  an  unaccountable 
impression  which  induced  him  to  take  a  different 
road  to  church  from  that  which  he  usually  fol- 
lowed. Thus  history  is  full  of  illustrations  of  the 
truth  that  in  answer  to  prayer  the  plots  of  the 
wicked,  the  projects  of  ambition  and  resentment, 
the  rage  of  persecution,  and  the  vindictive  de- 
signs of  pride,  envy,  and  jealousy  may  not  only 
be  defeated,  but  turned  to  accomplish  opposite 
and  even  beneficent  ends;  and  all  this  without  any 
disturbance  of  the  laws  of  mind  or  matter. 


ANSWER  TO   PRAYER.  1 25 

5.  Prayer  for  success  in  worldly  business.  This 
is  a  lawful  and  fitting  prayer  to  be  offered  by  the 
farmer  and  mechanic,  the  merchant  and  the  man- 
ufacturer; and  it  may  be  favorably  answered  by 
guiding  his  mind  in  forming  and  carrying  out  his 
plans,  by  inclining  the  minds  of  those  he  employs 
to  fidelity,  and  by  inspiring  the  minds  of  those 
with  whom  he  deals  with  confidence  in  his  truth- 
fulness and  honesty.  How  much  all  this  may 
contribute  to  a  man's  worldly  success  needs  no 
proof  or  illustration.  And  the  public  mind,  how 
easily  may  this  be  influenced  for  the  making  or 
the  ruining  of  men!  The  business  mind  of  the 
country  is  as  sensitive  to  any  rumor,  good  or  bad, 
as  the  thermometer  is  to  heat  or  cold.  What  tri- 
fles often  serve  to  elevate  or  depress  the  markets, 
to  advance  or  reduce  the  price  of  stocks,  to  enli- 
ven or  dampen  trade!  A  wdiisper  of  suspicion  is 
sufficient  to  create  a  panic  that  shall  bring  a 
"run  "  upon  a  bank  or  distress  upon  a  merchant- 
house,  and  a  breath  of  confidence  may  serve  to 
save  and  restore  both.  It  is  obvious  hence  that 
prayer  for  success  in  business  may  be  effectually 
answered  by  mere  influence  upon  minds. 

6.  Prayer  for  safety  in  travelling.  This  too  is 
an  authorized  and  proper  prayer,  and  an  answer 
to  it  may  not  require  any  infraction  or  suspension 
of  the  laws  which  govern  the  winds  or  the  waves 


126   NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

or  any  other  element.  It  may  be  answered  simply 
by  an  influence  on  the  traveller's  own  mind,  in 
deciding  when  he  shall  start,  in  choosing  his  route, 
or  in  selecting  his  train;  or  it  may  be  answered 
by  an  influence  on  the  minds  of  those  who  have 
the  management  of  his  train  committed  to  their 
care — the  conductor,  engineer,  brakeman,  switch- 
man, signal  tenders,  and  telegraph  operators : 
how  much  does  the  safety  of  every  traveller  de- 
pend upon  the  fidelity  and  promptness  of  all  these! 
Or,  take  the  voyager.  He  leaves  the  harbor  to 
cross  the  ocean  with  such  a  prayer  on  his  lips. 
That  prayer  may  be  answered  through  an  insensi- 
ble influence  exerted  upon  the  minds  of  those  who 
have  the  direction  of  the  vessel  in  their  hands, 
deciding  the  commands  of  the  mate,  the  watchful- 
ness of  the  lookout,  or  the  action  of  the  steersman 
in  a  critical  moment;  or  it  may  be  answered  by 
inclining  the  captain's  mind  at  the  outset  to  steer 
a  few  points  to  the  right  or  to  the  left  of  his  usual 
course,  and  thus  sail  clear  of  the  iceberg  envel- 
oped in  fog,  or  of  the  ship  coming  in  the  opposite 
direction  in  the  darkness  of  night,  or  of  the  spot 
where  shall  descend  the  destructive  thunderbolt, 
or  of  the  track  of  the  cyclone  that  shall  rush  in 
its  fury  over  the  deep.  God  is  not  shut  up  to  the 
performance  of  a  miracle  in  order  to  answer  the 
prayer  and  insure  the  safety  of  stich  as  trust  in  him. 


ANSWER  TO   PRAYER.  1 27 

7.  Prayer  for  protection  in  battle.  An  answer 
even  to  sucli  a  pra3'er  does  not  necessarily  require 
any  interference  with  j)hysical  laws ;  influence 
upon  mind,  the  suppliant's  own  mind  or  that  of 
others,  may  be  quite  sufficient  for  this.  Battles 
are  fought  by  the  minds  of  men  and  not  by  their 
bodies  alone.  The  line  of  march  and  the  position 
to  be  taken  are  determined  by  some  mind;  every 
movement  and  manoeuvre  on  the  field  of  conflict  is 
ordered  by  some  mind,  the  direction  and  moment 
of  firing  every  ball  are  decided  by  some  mind,  and 
every  step  and  attitude  taken  by  the  suppliant 
himself  is  suggested  by  his  own  mind.  And  as 
the  Infinite  Mind  is  present  with  all,  with  foe  as 
well  as  friend,  and  can  by  unfelt  and  unknown 
influence  quicken  or  retard  or  change  any  or  all 
of  these  decisions,  or  frustrate  the  execution  of 
them  by  haste  or  indecision,  by  dejecting  the 
hearts  of  the  brave  with  sudden  terror  or  render- 
ing the  hand  of  the  strong  weak  and  trembling  in 
the  decisive  moment — as  all  this  is  quite  possible 
to  Him,  it  is  obvious  that  he  can  with  infinite 
ease  answer  the  prayer  of  the  devout  soldier  and 
bring  him  unharmed  out  of  the  hottest  of  the  con- 
flict without  deflecting  a  ball  or  shivering  a  sword 
contrary  to  the  laws  of  nature. 

Many  well  authenticated  facts  might  readily 
be  adduced  to  show  how  an  overruling  providence 


128   NATURAL   LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TKACHINGS. 

influences  and  directs  the  minds  of  men  when 
they  least  think  of  it,  but  we  confine  ourselves  to 
a  single  instance.  In  our  own  Revolutionary 
War,  during  the  two  days'  skirmishing  which 
immediately  preceded  the  battle  of  Brandy  wine, 
the  following  startling  incident  occurred:  *'We 
had  not  lain  long,"  relates  an  officer  in  the  Eng- 
lish army,  "when  a  rebel  hussar,  followed  by  an 
officer  dressed  in  dark  green,  mounted  on  a  bay 
horse,  pressed  within  a  few  hundred  feet  of  my 
right  flank,  not  perceiving  us.  I  ordered  three 
good  marksmen  to  steal  near  and  fire  at  them ;  but 
the  idea  disgusting  me,  I  recalled  the  order.  The 
hussar  in  returning  made  a  circuit,  but  the  other 
passed  within  a  hundred  yards  of  us,  upon  which 
I  advanced  from  the  woods  towards  him.  Upon 
my  calling  he  stopped;  but  after  looking  at  me 
he  proceeded.  I  again  drew  his  attention  and 
made  signs  to  him  to  stop,  levelling  my  piece  at 
him,  but  he  slowly  cantered  away.  I  was  within 
a  distance  that  I  could  have  lodged  half  a  dozen 
balls  in  him  before  he  could  be  out  of  my  reach ; 
I  had  only  to  determine.  But  it  was  not  pleasant 
to  fire  at  the  back  of  an  individual  coolly  doing  his 
duty,  so  I  let  him  alone.  The  next  day  I  learned 
through  a  surgeon  who  had  been  dressing  the 
wounds  of  some  rebel  officers  that  the  individual 
I  had  thus  spared  was  none  other  than  Gen.  George 


ANSWER  TO   PRAYER.  1 29 

Washington  himself.  And  I  am  not  sorry  that  I 
did  not  know  at  the  time  who  he  was."*  How 
remarkable  is  all  this  !  Here,  by  a  mere  mental 
impression,  a  veteran  officer  is  once  and  again  led 
to  act  contrary  to  the  common  usage  of  war  and 
to  spare  an  enemy  who  was  reconnoitring  his 
own  position.  But  what  issues  hung  upon  that 
unaccountable  impression !  Had  Washington  then 
fallen  what  had  been  the  end  of  the  Revolutionary 
struggle,  or  what  had  been  the  subsequent  condi- 
tion of  this  country  ?  In  all  probability  something 
very  different  from  what  its  actual  history  has 
been. 

8.  Prayer  for  recovery  in  sichiess.  The  prayer 
of  faith  in  such  a  condition,  the  Scripture  assures 
us,  availeth  much,  and,  without  "depriving  one 
miasmatic  molecule  of  its  properties"  by  a  mira- 
cle, may  be  answered  in  various  ways. 

In  answer  to  such  a  prayer  the  physician's 
mind,  in  the  exercise  of  his  professional  knowl- 
edge and  experience,  may  be  guided  to  a  correct 
judgment  or  diagnosis  of  the  disease  and  to  the 
best  remedy  for  it,  and  thus  be  enabled,  through 
the  use  of  natural  means,  to  restore  his  patient  to 
health  ao^ain. 

In  answer  to  the  prayer  of  the  sick  the  Holy 
Spirit  may  beget  in  him  a  trusting  and  hopeful 
*  Major  Ferguson's  "  Piivate  Letters." 

Natural  Laws.  Q 


130   NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACPIINGS. 

frame  of  mind,  which  in  the  judgment  of  medical 
authorities  is  always  helpful  to  recovery. 

In  answer  to  prayer,  when  all  symptoms  are 
discouraging,  the  divine  Spirit  may  produce  in 
the  sufferer  a  calm  resignation  to  the  will  of  God 
which  never  fails  to  lighten  and  relieve  his  bur- 
den, whatever  his  affliction  may  be. 

In  answer  to  prayer  the  Spirit  of  grace  may 
inspire  the  soul  with  faith  in  Christ  which  shall 
enable  the  sick  to  rise  superior  to  all  the  fears  and 
sufferings  of  dissolution,  and  thus  triumph  over 
death  itself. 

Reviewing  all  the  foregoing  classes  of  prayer, 
we  see  that  the  field  where  answer  may  be  given, 
independently  of  all  natural  laws,  is  very  broad 
and  large;  that  the  most  important  petitions  that 
we  need  or  can  offer  may  be  granted  by  influence 
on  mind  alone.  And  when  all  such  prayers  are 
thus  answered  how  little  more  is  left  for  the 
Christian  to  desire  !  We  see  also  to  what  narrow 
limits  the  territory  is  reduced  which  the  material- 
ist can  in  any  wise  dispute;  nor  are  we  called  upon 
to  yield  him  even  this. 

PRAYER    ANSWERABLE     THROUGH     INVARIABLE 

LAWS. 

The  Scriptures  teach  us  both  by  precept  and 
example  that  we  may  pray  for  material  blessings — ■ 


ANSWER  TO   PRAYER.  131 

for  food,  for  favorable  weather,  for  fruitful  sea- 
sons for  protection  from  disease  and  from  natural 
calamities.  And  we  now  propose  to  sliow  that 
answer  to  such  prayers  may  be  granted  in  perfect 
harmony  with  the  workings  of  all  natural  laws. 

This  brings  us  face  to  face  with  the  alleged 
scientific  difficulty.  It  is  urged,  as  before  stated, 
that  answer  to  such  prayers  would  require  a  vio- 
lation or  suspension  of  the  laws  af  nature,  and 
therefore  is  not  to  be  looked  for.  As  these  laws 
are  established  and  immutable,  no  interruption  or 
suspension  of  them  having  ever  been  known,  it  is 
asserted  that  human  petitions  can  have  no  influ- 
ence in  procuring  such  blessings.  The  silent  and 
undeviating  march  of  natural  order,  we  are  told, 
leaves  no  room  for  such  answers;  physical  laws 
are  unalterable  in  their  action,  and  neither  change 
nor  bend  nor  yield  either  to  accomplish  or  defeat 
any  result  in  which  the  interests  of  mortals  may 
be  involved.  Prayers  directed  for  such  ends, 
therefore,  are  equally  vain  and  delusive. 

The  general  constancy  of  nature  in  all  her  op- 
erations is  universally  acknowledged  and  acted 
upon.  It  is  freely  admitted  that  all  the  forces  of 
nature — gravitation,  chemical  affinity,  light,  heat, 
magnetism,  and  electricity — act  according  to  uni- 
form and  unvaried  laws;  that  on  sea  and  land,  on 
plain  and  mountain-top,  each  individual  force  acts 


1^2    NATURAI,  LAWS  AND  GOSPElv  TEACHINGS. 

under  the  same  mcasiires,  weights,  numbers,  and 
limitations  at  all  times  and  under  all  circum- 
stances. 

All  this  is  true,  but  it  is  only  a  part  of  the 
truth.  There  is  another  general  fact  which  is 
equally  well  established,  namely,  that  no  one  law 
or  force  determines  anything  that  we  see  take 
place  or  done  around  us.  Every  change  or  prod- 
uct or  result  that  we  witness  in  nature  is  the 
effect  of  a  combination  of  different  forces.  A  shower 
of  rain,  for  example,  is  not  the  result  of  one  force, 
but  of  the  combination  of  several  forces — of  heat, 
electricity,  chemical  affinity,  and  gravitation^and 
the  action  of  eacli  of  these  forces  in  such  a  com- 
bination is  modified  by  that  of  all  the  others; 
hence  we  have  showers  more  or  less  frequent,  more 
or  less  copious.  And  the  wind:  neither  the  speed 
nor  the  direction  nor  the  temperature  of  this  is 
determined  by  any  one  force,  but  by  a  combination 
of  causes — solar  heat,  electric  currents,  aqueous 
vapors,  etc. ;  and  as  the  one  or  the  other  of  these 
predominates  in  energy  we  have  wind  from  this 
or  that  quarter,  strong  wind  or  a  gentle  breeze. 
A  tree  or  a  bush  or  an  apple  or  an  ear  of  wheat 
is  not  the  product  of  one  force,  but  of  the  combined 
action  of  many  forces;  and  any  variation  in  one 
force  caused  by  the  other  forces  produces  a  greater 
or  less  change  in  the  result;  hence  our  crops  in 


ANSWER  TO   PRAYER.  1 33 

diflferent  years  vary  both  in  quantity  and  quality. 
So,  then,  while  it  is  true  that  each  law  or  force  is 
unvaried  in  its  action,  yet  it  produces  the  same 
effect  only  when  it  w^orks  under  the  same  condi- 
tions in  reference  to  other  laws  or  forces.  When 
these  conditions  are  changed  the  effect  likewise  is 
changed.  And,  as  these  conditions  or  combina- 
tions  are  susceptible  of  endless  variations,  the  re- 
sults may  be  endlessly  varied. 

''When  scientific  men  speak,  as  they  often 
do,"  says  the  Duke  of  Argyll,  "of  all  phenomena 
being  governed  by  invariable  laws  they  use  lan- 
eua^e  which  is  ambiguous,  and  in  most  cases  they 
use  it  in  a  sense  which  covers  an  erroneous  idea 
of  the  facts.  There  are  no  phenomena  visible  to 
man  of  which  it  is  true  to  say  that  they  are  gov- 
erned by  any  invariable  force.  That  which  does 
govern  them  is  always  some  variable  combination 
of  invariable  forces.  But  this  makes  all  the  dif- 
ference in  reasoning  on  the  relation  of  will  to 
law,  of  providence  to  physical  affairs;  this  is  the 
one  essential  distinction  to  be  admitted  and  ob- 
served. There  is  no  observed  order  of  facts  which 
is  not  due  to  a  combination  of  forces,  and  there  is 
no  combination  of  forces  which  is  invariable — 
none  which  are  not  capable  of  change  in  infinite 
decrees.  In  these  senses— and  these  are  the  com- 
mon  senses  in  which  law  is  used  to  express  the 


134   NATURAI.  LAWS  AND  GOSPKlv  TEACHINGS. 

plieiiomena  of  nature — law  is  not  rigid,  is  not  im- 
mutable: it  is  not  invariable,  but  is,  on  the  con- 
trary, pliable,  subtle,  and  various."* 

In  illustration  of  these  statements  we  here  pre- 
sent a  few  examples  of  the  variable  results  pro- 
duced by  invariable  laws  acting  in  different  com- 
binations. "The  course  of  nature,"  says  John 
Stuart  Mill,  "has  not  been  uniform,  but  infi- 
nitely various.."  Variation  and  change  are  ob- 
servable in  every  department  of  the  creation.  We 
speak  of  the  planets  being  governed  by  the  im- 
mutable laws  of  motion  and  gravitation,  but  so 
manifold  are  the  perturbations  produced  by  their 
mutual  attractions  that  no  planet  in  the  system, 
strictly  speaking,  ever  twice  describes  precisely 
the  same  orbit  round  the  sun.  We  are  told  that 
the  action  of  the  physical  forces  on  the  earth  has 
been  uniform  through  all  the  periods  of  its  geo- 
logical history,  yet  how  endlessly  varied  have 
been  the  results  produced  by  these  forces,  how 
amazing  the  changes  through  which  it  is  sup- 
posed to  have  passed  ! — in  its  beginning  a  molten 
sphere  enveloped  in  a  dense  atmosphere  of  steam ; 
afterwards  enswathed  in  a  shoreless  ocean;  at  a 
later  period  exhibiting  continents  and  islands  all 
clothed  with  a  luxuriant  vegetation;  at  a  later 
period  still  encased  in  ice  and  snow  from  pole 
^'  The  "Reign  of  Law,"  Chap.  2. 


ANSWER   TO   PRAYER.  1 35 

to  pole;  while  at  the  present  we  find  it  enjoy- 
ing every  pleasing  diversity  of  both  soil  and  cli- 
mate. Well  might  Sir  Charles  Lyell  say,  "Any 
one  who  presumes  to  dogmatize  respecting  the 
absolute  uniformity  of  the  order  of  nature  is  re- 
buked by  geological  evidence  of  the  changes  which 
that  order  has  already  undergone."  Again,  the 
forces  of  nature,  individually,  operate  uniformly 
throughout  the  year ;  yet  by  different  combina- 
tions of  these  forces  we  have  the  cold  and  barren- 
ness of  winter  at  one  time  and  the  warmth  and 
luxuriance  of  summer  at  another.  The  recurrent 
order  of  the  seasons  is  produced  by  invariable 
causes;  yet  since  the  world  began  no  season  has 
ever  been  exactly  like  another.  The  sun  shines 
uniformly  and  the  gases  and  vapors  composing 
the  atmosphere  ever  remain  obedient  to  their  re- 
spective laws,  but  for  all  this  the  temperature  has 
often  been  known  to  change  20  or  30  or  even  40 
deofrees  within  a  few  hours.  The  Qreneral  econ- 
omy  of  physical  nature  continues  the  same,  yet 
one  season  proves  eminently  favorable  to  the  de- 
velopment and  prevalence  of  cholera  or  yellow- 
fever,  while  the  next  may  forbid  even  the  appear- 
ance of  these  scourges;  or  one  summer  may  be 
marked  by  a  damaging  excess  of  rain  and  the 
next  by  a  protracted  and  withering  drought;  or 
one  year  may  be  rendered  memorable  for  its  fre- 


136   NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPElv  TEACHINGS. 

quent  tornadoes  and  earthquakes,  while  those  that 
follow  shall  witness  none  of  these  terrible  phe- 
nomena. In  not  one  of  these  cases  is  any  phys- 
ical law  violated  or  suspended  or  modified;  all 
are  the  results  of  different  combinations  of  these 
laws. 

From  facts  such  as  these  it  is  evident  that  the 
earth  and  the  sea  and  the  air  might  be  made  to 
pass  through  almost  any  imaginable  changes,  and 
that  the  living  inhabitants  of  the  world  might  be 
subjected  to  any  sort  or  amount  of  physical  evil 
or  be  favored  with  any  kind  or  degree  of  material 
good — might  be  visited  with  a  drought  or  a  del- 
uge, with  fruitful  seasons  or  blighted  fields,  with 
an  atmosphere  that  is  salubrious  or  pestilential — 
without  the  slightest  interference  with  the  uni- 
form operation  of  any  one  law  of  nature.  The 
fixedness  of  physical  laws,  therefore,  does  not,  as 
the  objectors  set  forth,  necessarily  exclude  all  an- 
swer to  prayer  for  material  favors.  All  the  an- 
swers which  the  Scriptures  promise  and  which 
the  Christian  desires  may  be  granted  by  adjust- 
ment or  combination  of  these  laws.  In  the  end- 
less combinations  of  which  the  established  forces 
of  the  universe  are  susceptible  God  has  ready  to 
his  hand  suitable  and  abundant  resources  to  bring 
about  in  answer  to  the  prayers  of  the  faithful 
whatever  change  or  result  He  may  see  in  his  in- 


ANSWER  TO   PRAYER.  1 37 

finite  wisdom  to  be  for  their  benefit  without  vio- 
lating or  suspending  any  one  law  of  nature. 

ANSWER    TO    PRAYER    AND   THE    CONSERVATION 
OF   FORCE. 

Here  it  may  be  asked,  by  way  of  objection  to 
all  that  has  now  been  said,  "But  does  God  ever 
interpose  to  produce  such  combinations?  How 
about  the  doctrine  of  the  conservation  of  force? 
Does  not  this  exclude  the  idea  of  any  divine  agen- 
cy being  exercised  in  the  system  of  nature  for  the 
answering  of  such  prayers?" 

Well,  and  what  is  this  doctrine  of  conserva- 
tion? Simply  that  the  stun  of  all  the  physical 
energies  of  the  universe  is  believed  to  be  always 
the  same.  Or,  to  express  it  more  fully,  that  while 
the  various  forces  of  nature  are  so  related  as  to  be 
mutually  convertible,  that  is,  motion  may  be  con- 
verted into  heat,  heat  into  electricity,  electricity 
into  light,  etc.,  no  one  of  them  can  make  its  ap- 
pearance in  a  new  or  different  form  without  an 
equivalent  expenditure  of  some  other  force,  so  that 
the  Sinn  of  all  remains  ever  a  constant  quantity. 
Hence  it  is  inferred  that  the  divine  energy  can 
have  no  place  or  part  in  the  workings  of  the  uni- 
verse, that  "no  personal  volition  can  mix  itself 
in  the  economy  of  nature"  at  the  call  of  any 
prayer  of  man. 


138    NATURAIv  I.AV\^S  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

This  objection  naturally  and  at  once  suggests 
the  question,  Is  this  doctrine  of  conservation  true? 
has  it  been  proved?  "If  true,"  says  Balfour 
Stewart,  one  of  the  foremost  of  living  physicists, 
"if  true,  its  truth  certainly  cannot  be  j)roved  after 
the  manner  in  which  we  prove  a  proposition  in 
Euclid;  nor  does  it  even  admit  of  a  proof  so  rigid 
as  that  of  the  conservation  of  matter."  This 
doctrine  rests  altogether  on  indirect  proof  derived 
from  very  limited  and  defective  experiments,  and 
the  evidence  that  can  be  obtained  for  it  in  this 
way  is  only  approximative.  In  all  the  experi- 
ments ever  made  there  has  always  been  a  certain 
discrepance  between  the  sum  of  the  force  started 
with,  in  one  form,  and  the  sum  recovered,  in  an- 
other form.  "Absolute  equality,"  says  Javon, 
"is  always  a  matter  of  assumption."  Such  is 
the  narrow  and  uncertain  foundation  upon  which 
rests  the  astounding  assertion  that  the  divine 
agency  can  have  no  place  or  part  in  the  operations 
of  nature.  It  is  not  without  good  reason,  there- 
fore, that  Prof.  Bowne  makes  the  energetic  re- 
mark, "It  is  a  vexatiously  common  error  with 
semi-scientific  speculators  to  affirm  the  doctrine 
of  conservation  to  be  absolute,  and  then  to  con- 
clude that  there  can  be  no  vital  or  spontaneous 
agent  in  the  system.  The  fallacy  is  evident,  for 
it  consists  in  deducing  the  premises  from  the  con- 


ANSWER   TO   TRAYER.  1 39 

elusion,  which  in  turn  is  true  only  on  the  pre-as- 
sumed  truth  of  the  premises." 

That  the  divine  will  can  interpose  to  produce 
any  required  combinations  of  the  physical  forces, 
whatever  of  truth  may  be  in  the  doctrine  of  con- 
servation, is  obvious  from  what  the  will  of  man 
is  able  to  effect  among  them.     Will  is  an  acknowl- 
edged source  of  power,  and  it  is  an  indisputable 
fact  that  the  will  of  man  can  counteract,  modify, 
and  direct,  to  a  certain  extent,  any  of  the  various 
forces  of  nature.     Daily  observation  and  experi- 
ence prove  that  man,  by  the  agency  of  his  intelli- 
o-ent  volition,  combines  and  directs  these  forces 
every  day,  whereby  he  brings  about  results  wholly 
different   from   those   which   would    have   taken 
place  except  for  such  combination  and  direction. 
And  how  numerous  and  diversified  are  the  com- 
binations of  these  forces  which  he  has  been  able 
to  effect,  and  how  surprising  the  results  produced 
by   them  !      His  steam   engines,   his  telegraphs, 
telephones,    telescopes,    spectroscopes,    balloons, 
diving-bells,    musical    instruments,    electric  ma- 
chines, chemical  retorts,  and  a  hundred  other  in- 
ventions—what are  they?     Simply  contrivances 
to  produce  special  combinations  and  adjustments 
of  the  forces  of  nature.     None  of  these  create 
force  in  any  sense  or  degree;  they  only  combine 
existing  forces.     And  though  by  means  of  them 


140  NATURAL  IvAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TKACHINGS. 

he  lias  been  able  to  alter  climate,  to  raise  and 
lower  temperature,  to  increase  and  diminish  the 
fall  of  rain,  to  improve  the  soil,  to  multijDly  food, 
to  banish  disease,  and  to  change  the  face  of  the 
earth  and  the  condition  of  its  inhabitants,  yet  no 
difficulty  or  check  from  the  doctrine  of  conserva- 
tion has  been  experienced  in  accomplishing  all 
this.  Much  less,  then,  can  this  doctrine  present 
any  impediment  to  the  divine  will. 

In  illustration  of  this  point  we  may  go  farther 
than  anything  that  man  has  actually  accomplished 
and  yet  remain  within  the  limits  of  what  is  possi- 
ble to  him.  If  the  waters  of  the  Mediterranean, 
as  lately  proposed,  were  made  to  flow  in  upon  the 
lower  level  of  the  Desert  of  Sahara  and  convert  a 
large  portion  of  its  surface  into  a  lake,  it  would 
produce  such  new  meteorological  combinations  as 
would  change  the  wdiole  aspect  and  condition  of 
the  surrounding  region  for  thousands  of  miles. 
Or,  what  is  not  an  impossibility,  if  a  canal  were 
cut  across  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  of  sufficient  ca- 
pacity to  divert  the  Gulf  Stream  from  its  present 
course  and  allow  it  to  flow  directly  into  the  Pacif- 
ic, instead  of  turning  northward  along  the  Amer- 
ican coast,  there  would  follow  such  a  new  combi- 
nation of  the  elements  as  would  change  the  pres- 
ent eenial  climate  of  the  British  Isles  and  North- 
western  Bnrope  into  one  as  rigorous  as  that  of 


ANSWER  TO   PRAYER.  141 

Labrador.  Yet  were  both  these  schemes  accom- 
plished, great  as  would  be  the  changes  that  would 
follow,  a  Tyndall  or  a  Faraday,  experimenting 
and  philosophizing  on  the  forces  of  nature  in  New 
Zealand,  supposing  he  had  received  no  informa- 
tion of  them,  would  never  dream  that  such  new 
combinations  had  been  formed  or  that  the  doc- 
trine of  conservation  had  been  in  any  wise  affected. 
All  things  would  continue  to  him  as  they  were 
from  the  beginning.  So  if  the  divine  will  saw  fit 
to  effect  certain  meteorological  combinations  in 
order  to  bring  on  rain  or  to  ward  off  disease,  in 
answer  to  the  prayers  of  a  prostrate  nation,  no  ex- 
periment of  man,  no  application  of  his  doctrine 
of  the  conservation  of  energy,  would  ever  discover 
that  his  volition  had  been  concerned  in  brineine 
about  the  result. 

If  the  will  of  man,  then,  with  his  short  insight 
into  nature  and  with  his  feeble  powers  to  control 
it,  is  able  to  do  so  much  to  direct  and  combine  its 
forces  to  bring  about  different  results,  what  may 
not  the  will  of  Him  who  is  almighty  and  omnis- 
cient be  able  to  accomplish  ?  What  combinations 
and  adjustments  may  He  not  be  able  to  effect  in 
perfect  harmony  with  the  observed  order  of  na- 
ture ?  All  proper  conceptions  of  God  as  an  omni- 
present, omniscient,  and  omnipotent  Being  bind 
us  to  believe  that  He  is  present — present  in  all 


142   NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

the  fulness  of  his  perfections — at  each  point  of 
space  and  through  each  instant  of  time;  that  He 
momentarily  stands  in  immediate  and  active  con- 
nection with  every  particle  of  matter  in  the  uni- 
verse— as  immediate  and  active  as  in  the  moment 
of  its  creation.  He  may  therefore  put  forth  an 
influence  among  physical  agents  for  their  combi- 
nation and  direction  beyond  the  reach  of  man's 
vision  or  sagacity;  may  determine  their  balan- 
cings where  human  science  cannot  trace  nor  hu- 
man instruments  detect  the  influence  of  his  power, 
where  all  energy  and  all  laws  known  to  man  are 
merged  and  lost  in  the  divine  volition  whence  all 
laws  and  all  forces  are  derived.  From  the  inex- 
haustible magazine  of  possible  combinations  the 
Governor  of  the  world  can  draw  with  infallible 
skill  the  agencies  of  his  dispensations  towards 
every  human  being  and  every  living  thing.  All 
the  energy  in  operation  or  in  existence  in  the  uni- 
verse being  none  other  than  energy  derived  from 
his  own  omnipotent  will,  He  can  with  infinite 
ease,  in  answer  to  his  people's  cry,  send  or  with- 
hold rain,  restore  health  or  ward  off  disease,  grant 
favoring  winds  to  the  mariner  or  fruitful  seasons 
to  the  husbandman,  in  perfect  harmony  with  all 
the  known  laws  of  nature.  And  when  we  x^ray 
for  such  favors  we  do  not  look  for  a  miracle;  we 
do  not  ask  God  to  violate  or  suspend  or  depart 


ANSWER  TO   PRAYER.  1 43 

from  any  of  the  laws  which  he  has  established^ 
but  to  direct  their  wonted  operations  so  as  to  bring 
ns  whatever  his  infinite  wisdom  and  love  may  see 
best  for  us. 

CONC1.USION. 

The  laws  of  nature,  then,  rightly  understood 
in  their  mutual  influence  and  combined  activity 
and  rightly  aiDprehended  in  their  relation  to  the 
Great  Ruler  of  all,  present  neither  obstacle  nor 
discouragement  to  prayer  even  for  material  bless- 
ings and  temporal  favors.  And  concerning  the 
attitude  and  spirit  of  those  who  represent  them  as 
being  such  we  can  employ  no  language  more 
truthful  or  fitting  than  that  of  the  distinguished 
Dr.  William  B.  Carpenter,  in  his  masterly  address 
on  retiring  as  the  president  of  the  British  Associ- 
ation for  the  Advancement  of  Science  in  1872. 
"To  set  up  these  laws,"  he  says,  "as  self-acting 
and  as  either  excluding  or  rendering  unnecessary 
the  Power  which  alone  can  give  them  effect  ap- 
pears to  me  as  arrogant  as  it  is  unphilosophical. 
To  speak  of  any  law  as  regulating  or  governing 
phenomena  is  only  permissible  on  the  assumption 
that  the  law  is  the  expression  of  the  modus  operandi 
of  the  governing  Power.  Those  who  set  up  their 
own  conceptions  of  the  orderly  sequence  which 
they  discern  in  the  phenomena  of  nature  as  fixed 


144   NATURAI,  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

and  determinate  laws,  by  wliicli  these  phenomena 
not  only  are,  but  always  have  been  and  always 
must  be  invariably  governed,  are  really  guilty  of 
the  intellectual  arrogance  they  condemn  in  the 
systems  of  the  ancients  and  place  themselves  in 
diametrical  antagonism  to  those  real  philosophers 
by  whose  comprehensive  grasp  and  penetrating 
insight  that  order  has  been  so  far  disclosed.  The 
order  of  nature  is  worshipped  as  itself  a  god  by 
the  class  of  interpreters  whose  doctrine  I  call  in 
question.  The  real  philosopher  is  one  who  al- 
ways loves  truth  better  than  his  system." 

A  few  years  ago  it  was  proposed  by  one  of  this 
class  to  reduce  prayer  to  an  experimental  test  by 
selecting  a  certain  ward  in  a  hospital  to  be  made 
a  special  object  of  prayer  and  another  ward  for 
which  no  prayer  should  be  offered,  and  then  at 
the  end  of  a  specified  period  compare  the  results 
in  deaths  and  recoveries  in  these  two  wards  as 
evidence  of  the  efficacy  of  prayer.  We  need  not 
stop  to  show  that  such  a  proposition  clearly  indi- 
cates in  its  author  an  utter  misconception  of  both 
the  nature  and  conditions  of  true  prayer.  To  test 
the  efficacy  of  prayer  is  indeed  perfectly  legiti- 
mate, not,  however,  in  the  skeptical  spirit  in 
which  this  proposal  was  made,  but  with  a  hum- 
ble and  honest  heart.  Whoever  shall  tJuis  make 
trial  of  the  benefit  of  j^rayer  will  find  the  most 


ANSWER  TO   PRAYKR.  1 45 

convincing  of  all  proofs  in  his  own  happy  experi- 
ence. It  is  good  for  me  to  drazv  near  to  God  has 
been  the  testimony  of  millions  in  the  ages  past 
and  is  the  testimony  of  millions  to-day,  among 
whom  are  numbered  not  a  few  of  those  who  stand 
in  the  foremost  ranks  of  science.  And  in  closing 
I  would  say  to  my  unbelieving  reader,  let  him 
make  but  the  humble  and  honest  trial  and  he  will 
not  long  stand  in  doubt.  However  inexplicable 
may  appear  to  him  the  divine  agency  in  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  world  and  whatever  seeming  or 
real  contradictions,  anomalies,  or  enigmas  he  may 
witness  in  life,  he  will  soon  attain  to  a  conscious- 
ness that  will  brush  all  these  difficulties  aside  as 
so  many  cobwebs  that  had  blurred  his  vision. 
And  henceforth,  in  whatever  place  he  shall  bow 
his  head  in  sincere  worship,  he  will  find  it  good 
to  be  there.  As  often  as  in  humble  and  earnest 
prayer  he  shall  seek  light  in  the  perplexities  of 
duty  or  help  in  the  hard  battle  of  life,  there  will 
come  from  above  a  beam  that  shall  illumine  his 
pathway  and  grace  that  shall  strengthen  and  nerve 
him  for  the  conflict.  *'They  that  wait  upon  the 
Lord  shall  renew  their  strength;  they  shall  mount 
up  with  wings  as  eagles;  they  shall  run  and  not 
be  weary,  and  they  shall  walk  and  not  faint.'* 


Natural  Laws.  \Q 


146   NATURAI.  I.AWS  AND  GOSrEL  TKACHINGS. 


PART  IV. 

THE   RESURRECTION  OF  THE   DEAD. 

The  resurrection  of  the  dead  is  a  doctrine  of 
pure  revelation.  Natural  reason  did  not  discover 
or  conceive  it.  The  nearest  approach  to  it  ever 
made  by  heathen  sages  appears  to  be  the  notion 
of  metempsychosis,  or  the  passing  of  the  souls  of 
deceased  men  into  the  bodies  of  various  animals — 
a  condition  which  was  to  them  not  so  much  an 
object  of  hope  as  of  dread,  being  a  state  of  indefi- 
nite purgatory.  Of  resurrection  proper  they  had 
no  conception;  and  when  it  was  announced  to 
some  of  the  wisest  among  them,  they  deemed  it  a 
thing  incredible  and  scoffed  at  it. 

This  doctrine  is  peculiar  to  the  inspired  Scrip- 
tures. Intimations  of  it,  and  even  some  general 
statements  concerning  it,  are  to  be  found  in  the 
Old  Testament.  As  on  many  other  truths,  more 
and  more  light  was  given  on  this  subject  with  the 
progressive  development  of  God's  will  and  purpose 
concerning  men.  Job,  David,  Isaiah,  and  Dan- 
iel successively  speak  of  it  in  terms  ever  growing 
more  lucid  and  definite.  And  towards  the  close 
of  that  ancient  dispensation  we  find  that  it  was  a 


THE   RESURRECTION   OE  THE   DEAD.        147 

prevailing  doctrine  among  the  Jews.  But  its  more 
particular  and  full  revelation  was  reserved  to  be 
made  by  Christ  and  his  apostles,  who  taught  it  in 
positive  and  explicit  terms,  such  as  the  following: 

"The  hour  is  coming  in  which  all  that  are  in 
the  grave  shall  hear  his  voice  and  shall  come 
forth;  they  that  have  done  good  unto  the  resur- 
rection of  life,  and  they  that  have  done  evil  unto 
the  resurrection  of  judgment." 

"The  lyord  himself  shall  descend  from  heaven 
with  a  shout  and  with  the  voice  of  the  archangel 
and  w^ith  the  trump  of  God:  and  the  dead  in 
Christ  shall  rise  first;  then  we  that  are  alive,  that 
are  left,  shall  together  with  them  be  caught  up 
into  the  clouds  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air,  and 
so  shall  we  ever  be  with  the  lyord." 

Such  are  the  clear  announcements  made  in  the 
gospel  concerning  the  wonderful  change  that  is  to 
pass  upon  the  living  and  the  dead  at  the  last  day. 

DIEEICULTIES   PRESENTED   BY  THE   DOCTRINE. 

That  the  dead — all  the  dead  of  the  human 
race — should  be  raised  to  life  aQ:ain  at  the  final 
day  is  an  event  so  wonderful,  and  to  natural  rea- 
son so  improbable,  that  it  has  given  rise  to  many 
skeptical  and  perplexing  questions.  It  has  been 
asked.  When  the  body  has  been  utterly  dissolved 
and  its  constituents  scattered  by  winds  and  waves 


148  NATURAL   LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TKACIIINGS. 

to  be  mingled  with  a  thousand  other  substances, 
how  is  it  possible  that  they  should  be  re-collected 
and  reorganised  again?  When  the  materials 
composing  the  body  have  gone  to  nourish  plants 
and  trees  and  become  parts  of  their  leaves  and 
flowers  and  fruits,  and  when  these  again  have  be- 
come food  for  beasts  and  birds  and  fishes  and  thus 
been  compounded  into  their  bodies,  how  can  these 
materials  be  brought  together  again  and  be  mould- 
ed into  a  human  frame  as  before?  x\gain.  If  all 
its  particles  could  be  found  and  collected,  will 
they  be  fashioned  into  a  body  of  the  same  form 
and  features  as  that  buried?  Will  the  aged  be 
raised  as  aged,  the  youth  as  youth,  and  those  who 
died  in  infancy  as  infants?  Again,  Will  all  the 
matter  which  at  any  time  entered  into  its  compo- 
sition during  life  be  employed  to  form  the  resur- 
rection body,  or  only  that  which  belonged  to  it  at 
the  moment  of  death  ?  And  again.  If  the  same 
particles  of  matter  have  at  successive  periods 
formed  part  of  two  different  bodies,  as  in  the  case 
of  a  cannibal  and  his  victim,  how  can  those  self- 
same particles  be  given  to  each  of  these  claimants? 
These  and  other  like  questions  will  be  best  an- 
swered by  presenting  the  exact  statements  of  Scrip- 
ture concerning  the  resurrection  body  in  connec- 
tion with  the  physiological  facts  ascertained  re- 
specting the  composition,  growth,  and  decay  of 


THE  RESURRECTION   OF  THE   DEAD.        149 

the  present  body.      This  we  shall  now  attempt  to 
do. 

HOW  THE   BODY  IS   BUILT  UP. 

All  the  substances  which  enter  into  the  com- 
position of  our  frames  come  from  without.  The 
body,  admirable  as  all  its  parts  and  functions  are, 
can  create  nothing ;  every  ounce  added  to  its 
weight  and  every  inch  added  to  its  dimensions, 
from  earliest  infancy  to  full-grown  manhood,  are 
produced  by  materials  drawn  from  the  external 
world.  And  now  let  us  glance  at  the  several  ways 
in  which  these  are  obtained  and  employed  to  build 
it  up  and  to  preserve  it  in  health,  vigor,  and  ac- 
tivity. 

The  first  and  most  obvious  supply  of  materials 
for  building  up  the  body  comes  from  ih^food  \\q 
eat.  This,  after  undergoing  the  chemical  changes 
produced  in  the  stomach,  is  carried  forward  into 
the  intestines,  and  in  passing  through  these  the 
nutritive  parts  are  strained  off  by  innumerable 
minute  orifices,  called  lactcals^  which,  through 
their  hair-like  pipes  and  by  successive  steps,  unite 
their  contents  and  discharge  them  by  the  thoracic 
duct  into  the  jugular  vein  to  mingle  with  the 
blood,  which  is  carried  directly  into  the  heart,  to 
be  propelled  by  this  through  the  arteries  to  every 
member  and  portion  of  the  body  to  supply  the 
material  necessary  for  their  construction  and  per- 


150   NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TE:aCHINGS. 

petual  repair.  Under  the  mysterious  guidance  of 
the  vital  principle  every  particular  part  of  the 
body  selects  from  this  nourishing  blood  the  special 
chemical  compounds  which  are  required  for  the 
formation  of  its  own  peculiar  substance  or  for  the 
discharge  of  its  special  function.  Thus  the  bones 
specially  select  and  appropriate  phosphate  of  lime, 
while  the  muscles  take  phosphate  of  magnesia  and 
phosphate  of  potash.  The  cartilages  choose  and 
grow  on  soda;  the  teeth  extract  fluorine;  the  hair, 
skin,  and  nails  select  and  almost  monopolize  the 
silica;  the  eye  and  the  hair  extract  the  iron  to 
form  their  pigment;  the  brain  gathers  largely  of 
the  phosphorus.  Thus  to  each  part  of  the  body 
certain  chemical  substances  seem  to  be  most  spe- 
cially appropriate,  and  to  each  part  a  peculiar  and 
special  power  has  been  given  of  selecting  from  the 
common  source  of  supply  those  materials  which 
suit  it  best  to  work  withal. 

But  what  we  eat  and  drink  is  not  the  only 
supply;  the  atmosphere  likewise  furnishes  a  large 
amount  of  the  elements  necessary  to  build  up  and 
sustain  the  body.  This  we  obtain  by  the  act  of 
breathing.  A  man  of  average  size,  say  weighing 
154  lbs.,  with  every  inspiration  draws  into  the 
lungs  about  one  pint  of  air;  and  taking  the  aver- 
age of  inspirations  at  18  to  a  minute,  he  will  thus 
inhale  3,000  gallons  of  atmosphere  every  twenty- 


THK    RKSURRKCTION   OF   TITR    DI^AD.         151 

four  hours.  The  air  thus  taken  in  after  a  brief 
interval  is  thrown  out  again  directly  from  the 
lungs  and  indirectly  from  the  pores  of  the  skin, 
but  from  both  these  in  an  altered  condition,  now 
containing  a  much  larger  amount  of  both  watery 
vapor  and  carbonic  acid  than  when  it  entered. 
The  skin  alone  exhales  in  insensible  perspiration 
from  one  and  a  half  to  two  pounds  and  the  lungs 
something  over  one  pound  of  water  every  twenty- 
four  hours;  and  during  the  same  period  from  one 
to  three  pounds,  according  to  circumstances,  of 
carbonic  acid  are  given  off  from  both  the  lungs 
and  the  pores.  These  two  processes,  inhalation 
and  exhalation,  go  on  without  intermission  both 
when  we  are  awake  and  wdien  we  are  asleep. 

From  the  air  inhaled  the  lungs  extract  from 
one-seventh  to  one-fifth  of  its  oxygen,  a  quantity 
equal  in  w^eight  to  about  one-fourth  that  of  the 
whole  amount  of  food  taken,  every  twenty-four 
hours.  This  oxygen  combines  directly  with  the 
constituents  of  the  blood  in  the  lungs,  and  is  then 
carried  with  the  ceaseless  current  of  the  arteries 
to  every  portion  and  particle  of  the  body  to  help 
build  up  the  solid  substance  of  the  muscles,  car- 
tilages, and  skin.  It  forms  a  part  of  the  material 
of  which  they  are  necessarily  composed,  and  there- 
fore is  real  food,  and  to  a  certain  extent  we  live 
upon  it.     Only  a  part  of  the  oxygen  extracted  by 


152  naturat.  laws  and  gospkt.  teachings. 

the  lungs,  however,  is  thus  used  to  build  up  the 
body;  the  other  and  greater  part  of  it  is  employed 
for  an  opposite  purpose,  which  we  shall  now  de- 
scribe. 

HOW  THE   BODY   IS   DISSOI.VED  AND   CHANGED. 

Particles  of  the  substances  composing  the  vari- 
ous parts  of  the  body  continually  wear  out,  so  to 
speak,  and  become  effete;  these  the  oxygen,  by 
combining  with  them,  renders  soluble,  so  that 
they  are  easily  removed  by  the  proper  channels 
to  give  place  to  new  and  efficient  particles.  If 
we  could  look  into  the  substance  of  the  body,  we 
should  see  that,  throughout,  its  constituent  parts 
are  in  a  state  of  perpetual  motion  and  change. 
No  part,  not  even  the  most  solid,  is  exempt  from 
this.  Portions  of  the  substance  of  the  bones,  of 
the  muscles,  of  the  heart,  of  the  brain,  become 
changed  and  unfit  for  the  places  they  occupy  and 
are  dissolved  and  carried  away  as  waste  matter 
with  the  blood  that  flows  through  the  veins,  from 
which  it  is  eliminated  by  the  kidneys  and  other 
organs;  in  the  meanwhile  the  places  of  these  ef- 
fete particles  are  continually  supplied  by  new 
matter  extracted  from  the  rich  arterial  blood. 

The  particles  of  our  corporeal  frame  may  be 
likened  to  "the  population  of  a  great  city,  who 
are  ever  in  motion  and  in  change,  coming  and 


THE   REvSURRKCTlON   OF   TIIK    DEAD.         I53 

going  continually,  weeded  out  and  removed  hour 
after  hour  by  deaths  and  departures,  yet  as  un- 
ceasingly kept  up  in  numbers  by  new  incomers; 
changing  from  day  to  day  so  insensibly  as  to 
escape  observation,  yet  so  evidently  that  after  the 
lapse  of  a  few  years  scarcely  a  known  face  can  be 
discerned  among  congregated  thousands.  Thus 
it  is  with  the  constituent  parts  of  the  body.  So 
rapid  is  the  wear  and  tear  of  this  animal  machine 
in  consequence  of  its  incessant  movements  that 
the  repairs  which  are  constantly  called  for  are 
said  to  renovate  the  whole  framework  in  a  very 
brief  period.  Every  wheel  in  that  short  space  is 
removed  and  renewed.  New  materials  are  brought 
in  for  the  purpose,  while  the  old  are  thrown  away 
and  rejected.  Scarcely  has  the  gluten  of  the 
plant  been  comfortably  fitted  into  its  place  in  the 
muscle,  the  skin,  or  the  hair,  when  it  begins  forth- 
with to  be  dissolved  out  again — to  be  decomposed 
and  removed  from  the  body.  Restlessness  beyond 
our  control  is  thus  inherent  in  the  very  matter  of 
which  our  bodies  are  formed. '  ^ 

A  distinguished  physiologist  gives  the  follow- 
ing analysis  of  the  composition,  losses,  and  gains 
of  the  human  frame:  The  body  of  a  man  weighing 
154  pounds  is  composed  of  88  pounds  of  water 
and  66  pounds  of  solid  matters.  Such  a  body  in 
twenty -four  hours  throws  off  or  loses  of  water. 


154    NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPEIv  TEACHINGS. 

40,000  grains,  or  6  pounds,  and  of  other  matters, 
14,500  grains,  or  2  pounds.  These  losses  take 
place  through  the  lungs,  kidneys,  skin,  and  bow- 
els, and  amount  all  to  8  pounds. 

A  man  of  this  weight,  therefore,  in  order  to 
maintain  his  present  condition  or  weight  must 
daily  receive  into  his  system  of  solid  food  8,000 
grains,  of  oxygen  10,000  grains,  and  of  water 
2)6^  500  grains,  which  together  amount  to  8  pounds. 

Thus  there  is  a  complete  change  of  material 
to  the  amount  of  8  i)ounds  taking  place  in  the 
body  of  such  a  man  every  twenty-four  hours. 
From  facts  such  as  these  it  has  been  inferred  by 
Profs.  Johnston,  Huxley,  and  others  that  the  en- 
tire body  is  changed  and  renewed  in  a  period  of 
less  than  thirty  days.  This  period,  at  first  an- 
nouncement, may  appear  altogether  too  brief;  but 
if  we  duly  weigh  the  foregoing  facts,  it  is  not 
perhaps  incredible.  But  if,  to  make  sure  that  we 
are  within  the  limits  of  truth,  we  allow  a  whole 
year  to  complete  the  change,  the  rapidity  with 
which  this  earthly  house  is  dissolved  and  rebuilt 
will  be  sufficiently  wonderful  and  serve  all  the 
ends  for  which  we  mention  the  fact. 

WHAT   BECOMES  OF  THE   MATERIAL   BODY. 

Here  let  us  devote  a  moment  to  inquire  what 
becomes  of  the  materials  thus  thrown  off  from  the 


THE  RESURRECTION   OF  THE    DEAD.         155 

body,  materials  which  once  formed  parts  of  its 
living  tissues  and  fluids  and  which  we  regarded 
and  felt  to  be  parts  of  ourselves. 

The  watcr^  of  which  some  two  pounds  are 
thrown  off  from  the  lungs  and  the  pores  every 
twenty-four  hours,  floats  through  the  atmosphere 
in  the  form  of  vapor  and  is  presently  condensed 
into  dew  or  rain  to  nourish  grass  and  plants, 
which  erelong  serve  to  feed  animals  and  men 
once  more.  Thus  this  fluid,  never  at  rest,  goes 
through  the  same  circle  of  changes  again  and 
again.  What  circulates  in  my  system  to-day  a 
few  days  hence  may  flow  through  the  veins  of 
another. 

The  oxygen^  thrown  off  in  various  combinations 
with  the  waste  materials,  soon  regains  its  freedom 
and  its  purity  in  the  atmosphere,  where,  mingled 
with  the  common  ocean,  it  remains  ready  to  be 
inhaled  by  other  lungs,  to  pass  through  a  similar 
round  again.  It  is  the  common  servant  of  all 
that  breathe  or  need  its  services. 

The  carbonic  acid^  of  which  from  one  to  three 
pounds  are  daily  thrown  off,  also  floats  in  the  at- 
mosphere, to  be  absorbed  by  the  green  leaves  and 
grasses;  and  these,  as  before,  sooner  or  later,  are 
largely  taken  into  the  stomachs  of  animals  to  be- 
come parts  of  their  living  tissues.  Thus  the  same 
carbon  may  circulate  over  and  over  again,  now 


156   NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSrKL  TEACHINGS. 

floating  in  the  invisible  air,  now  forming  the  sub- 
stance of  the  growing  j)lant,  now  of  the  browsing 
animal,  and  now  of  living  man,  and  then  return 
to  the  atmosphere  to  pass  through  similar  and 
ceaseless  rounds.  What  is  mine  of  it  this  week 
may  be  yours  the  next. 

The  ttrea  and  ttric  acid^  into  which  the  worn 
and  wasted  muscles  have  been  converted,  passing 
from  the  kidneys,  return  to  the  soil,  from  which 
the  nitrogen  they  contain  originally  came.  There 
they  are  gradually  converted  into  ammonia,  nitric 
acid,  and  other  substances,  such  as  plant  roots 
originally  took  up,  and  which  now,  re-formed,  are 
ready  again  to  enter  into  new  roots  and  thus  to 
re-commence  the  same  round  of  change. 

The  mineral  matters  embraced  in  the  composi- 
tion of  the  body — salts,  lime,  magnesia,  etc.,  in 
all  about.  10  pounds — as  they  were  at  first  derived 
from  the  earth,  so  little  by  little  they  daily  find 
their  way  back  to  the  earth  again.  From  thence 
they  ascend  into  the  substance  of  plants  and  grass, 
thence  into  the  substance  of  the  bodies  of  animals 
and  men;  and  from  these  they  descend,  as  before, 
into  mother  earth  to  begin,  like  all  the  foregoing 
substances,  a  new  and  similar  career. 

Finally,  when  the  zvJiole  body  dies  at  once,  its 
leases  soon  disenQfao:e  themselves  and  minQ;le  with 
the  ocean  of  the  atmosphere;   its  fluids  become 


THE   RESURRECTION  OF  THE   DEAD.        157 

absorbed  by  the  soil  and  the  dust  of  its  more  solid 
parts  is  carried  by  percolating  rains  into  the 
streams  and  by  the  streams  into  the  sea — all 
sooner  or  later  to  enter  into  new  chemical  com- 
binations in  the  general  mass  of  the  elements  or 
in  the  structure  of  vegetation  or  in  the  bodies  of 
living  animals.  A  duty  is  laid  upon  every  par- 
ticle of  matter  composing  our  present  frame  to 
prepare  and  hasten  to  new  service  as  soon  as  its 
commission  with  us  is  performed.  How  vain, 
then,  are  the  efforts  of  affection  to  cherish  and 
preserv^e  the  fading  forms  of  the  dead  !  Do  what 
we  may,  they  can  never  long  be  prevented  from 
returnincr  to  the  ceaseless  whirl  of  their  natural 
elements.     Their  destiny  is  inevitable. 

SCRIPTURE  STATEMENTS  VERIFIED. 

From  all  that  has  now  been  stated  it  is  obvious 
that  the  material  elements  which  compose  the 
human  body  are  in  perpetual  circulation  and  per- 
petual change.  Nothing  that  belongs  to  it  is 
permanent,  nothing  is  fixed  or  abiding.  All  its 
parts  are  in  constant  flux.  It  is  not  the  same 
during  any  two  successive  weeks  or  even  on  any 
two  successive  days.  It  is  not  in  all  respects  the 
same  on  any  morning  when  we  awake  as  it  was 
on  the  preceding  evening  when  we  went  to  sleep. 
It  will  be  seen  hence  that  the  following  state- 


158   NATURAL  IvAWS  AND   GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

ments  of  Scripture  are  in  perfect  harmony  witli 
the  deductions  of  science: 

1.  That  our  bodies,  though  fearfully  and  won- 
derfully made,  are  composed  of  the  physical  ele- 
ments which  exist  around  us:  "The  first  man  is 
of  the  earth,  earthy. ' ' 

2.  That  portions  of  the  living  body  are  con- 
tinually dying  out  and  being  replaced  by  others, 
so  that  the  apostle's  words  express  a  literal  fact: 
"The  outward  man  is  perishing — I  die  daily." 

3.  That  we  have  already  put  on  and  put  off  a 
greater  number  of  bodies  than  we  are  years  of 
age,  bodies  fitted  for  infancy,  for  youth,  and  for 
manhood:  "God  giveth  to  each  a  body  as  it  hath 
pleased  him." 

4.  That  neither  form  nor  size  nor  sameness  of 
material  is  essential  to  personal  identity;  for,  in 
passing  through  our  successive  changes  of  body, 
we  have  been  conscious  all  along  that  we  are  the 
selfsame  individuals.  Hence  it  is  apparent  that 
we  may  be,  and  we  shall  be  so  still,  when  He 
shall  have  changed  this  our  vile  body  and  fash- 
ioned it  "like  unto  his  own  glorious  body." 

5.  That  we  have  no  standing  or  exclusive 
claim  or  title  to  any  of  the  particles  of  matter 
which  have  served  us  as  parts  of  our  bodies,  for 
they  have  sustained  the  same  relation  and  ren- 
dered the  same  service  to  others  before,  and  may 


THE   RESURRECTION   Oh'  THE   DEAD.        159 

to  Others  still  hereafter.  They  are  neither  mine 
nor  thine;  nor  need  either  of  us  regret  this,  for 
they  are  not  essential  to  "the  body  that  shall  be." 
The  Scriptures  nowhere  say  that  the  resurrection 
body  shall  be  constituted  of  the  identical  particles 
that  composed  the  mortal  body;  on  the  contrary, 
it  is  explicitly  stated,  "Thou  sowest  not  that 
body  that  shall  be;"  "flesh  and  blood  cannot  in- 
herit the  kingdom  of  God." 

6.  That  the  power  that  combines  the  elements 
of  earth  and  air  into  an  organic  plant,  that  con- 
verts the  substance  of  plant  into  the  flesh  of  living 
animals,  and  that  transforms  the  flesh  of  animals 
into  the  delicate  tissues  and  sensitive  nerves  of 
the  human  body,  may  carry  on  the  ascending  prog- 
ress still  higher  and  advance  that  mortal  body  to 
an  immortal,  so  that,  "as  we  have  borne  the  im- 
age of  the  earthly,  we  shall  also  bear  the  image 
of  the  heavenly." 

THE   BUILDER  OK  THIS    EARTHLY  TABERNACLE. 

In  organic  nature  the  dominant  force  is  that 
mysterious  principle  we  call  life.  This  is  the 
formative  and  ordering  power  in  both  the  vegeta- 
ble and  animal  kingdoms.  It  is  plant-life  that 
builds  the  plant,  animal  life  that  builds  up  the  an- 
imal frame,  and  it  is  this  vital  power  within  that 
builds  up  and  fashions  our  body.    This  is  the  pow- 


l6o   NATURAI.  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

er  that  quickens  into  living  substance  and  dispo- 
ses into  organic  form  the  matter  we  receive  as  food. 
Our  food  as  taken  into  the  stomach  is  dead  matter, 
and  all  its  particles  are  dead  even  after  they  have 
passed  into  the  intestines;  but  when  they  have 
reached  a  certain  point  in  the  circulation  of  the 
system  this  vital  power  in  some  mysterious  way 
seizes  upon  these  particles  and  infuses  into  them 
its  own  living  properties.  And  it  is  this  vital 
power,  like  an  ingenious  architect,  that  superin- 
tends and  directs  the  thousand  builders  who  are 
constantly  constructing  and  reconstructing  every 
member  and  organ  of  our  frame,  selecting  and 
combining  the  proper  materials  for  each  particu- 
lar part;  here  building  up  a  bone,  there  forming 
a  tendon;  here  weaving  the  fibre  of  a  muscle, 
there  the  filament  of  a  nerve ;  here  hinging  a 
valve,  there  glazing  an  eye — fashioning  and  fin- 
ishing each  with  the  most  scrupulous  nicety,  and 
combining  all  into  one  related  and  harmonious 
system  with  a  skill  surpassing  all  admiration. 

lyife,  then  (as  God's  agent),  is  the  builder  of 
the  present  body.  ' '  Organic  form  and  structure, ' ' 
says  Profr  J.  J.  Murphy,  "are  the  result  of  this 
formative  principle;  or,  in  briefer  words,  life  is 
the  cause  of  organization ;  organization  is  not  the 
cause  of  life.  Organization  is  not  essential  to  life. 
There  may  be  and  there  is  life  where  there  is  no 


THE   RESURRECTION   OF  THE   DEAD.        l6l 

organization."  So  the  Duke  of  Argyll,  in  argu- 
ing on  this  subject,  says,  "Let  us  never  forget 
that  life,  as  we  know  it  here  below,  is  the  antece- 
dent or  cause  of  organization  and  not  its  product; 
that  the  peculiar  combinations  of  matter  which 
are  the  homes  and  abodes  of  life  are  prepared  and 
shaped  under  the  control  and  guidance  of  that 
mysterious  power  which  we  know  as  vitality." 
It  is  this  vital  power,  this  living  principle,  that 
all  along  has  given  form  and  features  and  organi- 
zation to  the  ceaseless  current  of  ever-chaneine 
materials  which  we  have  called  our  body.  In 
this  vital  principle  we  have  the  abiding  and  es- 
sential force  which  forms  and  actuates  the  body, 
the  fashioning  power  that  lies  underneath  and 
permeates  the  outward  phenomenon  of  corporeal 
form,  and  which  is  the  sole  element  of  its  iden^ 
tiiy ;  all  else  is  in  perpetual  change. 

In  view  of  all  this  it  is  not  inconsistent  with 
nature  or  Scripture  to  suppose  that,  after  the  sub- 
stances of  our  present  body  shall  have  been  dis- 
solved and  scattered  by  death,  this  vital  and  or- 
ganic principle,  life^  abiding  still  in  connection 
with  the  spirit  in  the  presence  of  Christ — ''hid 
with  Christ  in  God" — may  return  with  him  in 
union  with  the  spirit  at  the  final  day,  quickened 
into  higher  and  magnetic  energies,  capable  of 
drawing  to  itself  from  the  same  terrestrial  ele- 

Natural  Laws.  J  \ 


l62    NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPElv  TEACHINGS. 

ments  as  before  materials  in  conditions  and  com- 
binations differing  from  anything  we  are  now 
acquainted  with,  and  out  of  them  fashion  for  itself 
a  new  and  superior  habitation,  "a  spiritual  body," 
suited  to  its  new  and  eternal  condition  of  exist- 
ence. Accordingly  the  apostle  speaks  of  our  being 
"clothed  upon"  with  "a  house  not  made  with 
hands,"  which  is  to  remain  and  abide  "eternal 
in  the  heavens." 

Of  this  putting  on  of  the  new  and  spiritual 
body  we  seem  to  have  some  intimations  even  in 
nature.  We  see  life  in  various  animals  building 
for  itself  a  succession  of  different  bodies  to  suit 
the  different  and  advancing  conditions  of  their 
existence.  The  life  that  has  been  inclosed  in  the 
egg  of  a  butterfly  presently  forms  for  itself  a  more 
spacious  abode  in  the  shape  of  a  caterpillar;  and 
erelong  it  constructs  still  another,  far  more  beau- 
tiful, in  the  form  of  a  winged  butterfly,  gleam- 
ing with  azure  and  gold.  In  the  sitaris  we  see 
life  building  for  itself  successively  no  less  than 
four  very  differently  constructed  abodes,  suited 
respectively  to  the  four  different  conditions  of  its 
existence.  Again,  some  creatures  there  are  which 
are  appointed  to  live  in  two  different  worlds,  so 
to  speak;  and  life  in  these,  as  it  passes  from  its 
lower  to  its  higher  world,  assumes  to  itself  a  cor- 
respondingly higher  and  more  perfect  body.     The 


THE    RESURRECTION    OF   THE    DEAD.        163 

lihcUiila  passes  the  first  period  of  its  existence  be- 
neath the  water  in  the  condition  of  an  ignoble 
larva,  soiled  with  mud  and  filth;  but  the  time 
comes  when  it  is  to  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  upper 
world,  and  we  see  it  leave  behind  its  first  body 
and  construct  another,  furnished  with  brilliant  and 
irridescent  wings  of  gauze,  which  bear  it  lightly 
and  happily  through  the  air.  The  scarabceits  also 
spends  its  earlier  period  as  a  hideous  subterranean 
worm ;  but,  destined  for  a  higher  state,  at  the  ap- 
pointed time  it  undergoes  a  singular  transforma- 
tion, and  we  see  it,  with  its  emerald  elytra,  dis- 
porting among  the  happiest  of  creatures  in  the 
pure  air  and  sunshine.  The  ancient  Egyptians, 
seeing  in  all  this  a  svmbol  of  the  transmii^ration 
of  souls,  accounted  this  little  creature  as  "sa- 
cred. ' ' 

These  facts  are  presented,  not  as  proofs  of  the 
resurrection  of  man,  but  as  marvels  of  nature  that 
should  silence  the  cavils  of  incredulity;  nor  yet 
are  they  oiTered  as  exact  parallels  to  the  resurrec- 
tion, but  as  striking  analogies,  which  render  that 
event  credible  and  worthy  of  acceptance.  If  we 
sec  life  in  its  lowest  forms  produce  such  wonders, 
what  may  not  life  in  its  highest  type  effect?  If 
a  humble  worm,  living  in  darkness  and  buried  in 
mud,  is  transformed  as  before  our  eyes  into  a  beau- 
teous creature,  with  feathers  of  silver  and  wings 


164   NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

of  gold,  gliding  through  the  air,  revelling  among 
flowers,  and  exulting  in  the  glowing  sunbeams, 
why  should  it  be  deemed  incredible  that  intellec- 
tual and  moral  man  should  know  as  great  and 
even  greater  change,  and  be  translated  into  just 
such  form  and  constitution  as  the  Holy  Scriptures 
promise  and  describe  ? 

THE  PROPERTIES  OF  THE  BODY  THAT  SHALL  BE. 

In  the  inspired  Word  we  find  not  simply  the 
general  announcement  that  there  shall  be  a  resur- 
rection of  the  dead,  but  also  a  particular  descrip- 
tion of  the  bodies  in  which  they  shall  be  invested. 
These,  we  are  told,  shall  be  widely  different  from 
those  we  now  occupy.  "It  is  sown  in  corruption; 
it  is  raised  in  incorruption."  That  is,  the  body 
is  laid  in  the  grave  a  framework  with  an  inevita- 
ble tendency  to  disorganization  and  putrefaction; 
but  it  shall  be  raised  exempt  from  all  liability  to 
disease  or  decay  and  remain  for  ever  imperisha- 
ble. ''It  is  sown  in  dishonor;  it  is  raised  in 
glory.''  As  soon  as  the  vital  spark  has  fled  a 
process  of  decomposition  sets  in,  rendering  the 
body  offensive  and  loathsome  and  making  it 
speedily  necessary  to  hide  it  in  the  grave;  but  it 
shall  be  raised  in  purity,  beauty,  and  splendor,  an 
object  worthy  of  admiration  and  honor.  "It  is 
sown  in  weakness;  it  is  raised  in  power."     The 


THE    RESURRECTION   OF  TllE    DEAD.        165 

present  body  is  a  feeble  tabernacle,  easily  injured 
and  ever  subject  to  weariness,  languor,  and  ex- 
haustion; but  it  shall  be  raised  as  the  seat  of 
unwasting  and  untiring  energies,  capable  of  bear- 
ing company  to  the  immortal  spirit,  without  fa- 
tigue in  all  its  services  to  God  and  in  its  ceaseless 
excursions  after  knowledge  over  the  broad  areas 
of  creation.  "It  is  sown  a  natural  body;  it  is 
raised  a  spiritual  body."  The  present  is  an  ani- 
mal body,  subject  to  all  the  laws  of  the  animal 
economy,  the  seat  of  animal  appetites,  passions, 
and  propensities;  but  the  resurrection  body  will 
be  free  from  all  these,  a  body  constituted  to  be 
in  perfect  accord  with  all  the  impulses  and  aspira- 
tions of  the  sanctified  soul  dwelling  within  it,  fit- 
ted to  live  as  spirits  live,  to  move  as  spirits  move, 
and  to  act  as  spirits  act.  ' '  In  the  resurrection 
they  shall  be  as  the  angels." 

Such  is  to  be  the  resurrection  body.  But  here 
skepticism  may  be  ready  to  ask.  How  can  such  a 
thing  be?  How  is  it  possible  to  constitute  such  a 
body  out  of  gross  earthly  materials  ?  Is  not  such 
an  idea  in  contradiction  of  all  that  we  have  ever 
observed  or  experienced?  Is  not  this  doctrine 
altoQfether  incredible?  To  human  is^norance  it 
may  seem  so  and  yet  be  true.  We  may  not  in- 
deed be  able  to  understand  or  even  conceive  how 
this  shall  be  done,  but  this  argues  nothing  against 


l66   NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSrEL  TEACHINGS. 

the  doctrine.  Our  knowledge  of  the  properties 
and  capabilities  of  matter  as  well  as  of  the  nature 
and  relations  of  the  physical  forces  is  as  yet  very 
incomplete  and  very  imperfect ;  but  we  know 
enough  of  both  to  meet  and  silence  such  cavils. 

The  play  and  transmutation  of  \\\^  forces  which 
actuate  and  control  all  nature  are  very  wonderful 
and  past  all  human  explanation;  what  now  ap- 
pears as  motion  may  presently  be  converted  into 
heat,  heat  to  magnetism,  magnetism  to  electricity, 
and  electricity  to  light;  or  the  reverse  of  all  this 
may  take  place,  or  the  transmutations  may  follow 
in  any  other  order.  The  changes,  combinations, 
and  transformations  of  which  matter  likewise  is 
capable  are  past  all  number  and  all  knowledge. 
What  stands  before  us  to-day  as  a  solid  block  of 
ice,  to-morrow  may  be  seen  as  a  flowing  stream  or 
a  flying  cloud,  or  it  may  exist  as  invisible  steam  or 
in  two  different  and  distinct  gases.  What  we  han- 
dle as  solid  gold  or  silver  or  copper  or  iron  may 
be  transformed  not  only  into  molten  fluid,  but 
into  floating  vapors  or  dancing  molecules.  The 
elementary  substance  w^e  call  carbon  may  assume 
the  form  of  dull  graphite  or  a  lump  of  charcoal, 
and  the  charcoal  again  that  of  the  brilliant  dia- 
mond. Science  tells  us  that  the  pending  dewdrop 
or  the  tear  trembling  on  the  lid  may  be  charged 
with  a  sufficient  quantity  of  electricity  to  produce 


THE   RESURRECTION   OF   THE   DEAD.         167 

a  thunderstorm  that  shall  shake  a  kingdom ;  that 
water  may  be  frozen  into  a  solid  lump  of  ice  in  a 
red-hot  crucible;  that  a  whisper  can  be  rendered 
audible  at  the  distance  of  a  hundred  leagues  and 
the  footfall  of  a  fly  as  distinct  as  the  tramp  of  a 
horse.  Science  makes  known  to  us  the  existence 
of  matter  in  conditions  in  which  none  of  our  senses 
can  take  cognizance  of  it;  oxygen,  though  it  com- 
poses one-half  the  substance  of  the  whole  globe  and 
is  one  of  the  most  energetic  elements  in  nature, 
yet  is  colorless  to  the  eye,  tasteless  to  the  tongue, 
odorless  to  the  nose,  and  impalpable  to  the  hand. 
Science  asserts  the  existence  of  a  material  medi- 
um, the  luminiferous  ether,  and  ascribes  to  it  pow- 
ers and  properties  which  are  as  utterly  incompre- 
hensible to  us  as  all  that  the  Scriptures  say  con- 
cerning the  "spiritual  body"  of  the  resurrection. 
It  tells  us  that  this  ether  is  of  so  attenuated  and 
elastic  a  nature  that  the  granite  rock  or  the  hard- 
ened steel  cannot  exclude  its  presence  or  impede 
its  motions;  that  its  power  of  resistance  to  pressure 
is  upwards  of  seventeen  billions  of  pounds,  and 
yet  we  move  through  it  constantly  without  feel- 
ing it;  that  though  it  touches  us  perpetually  on 
every  side,  yet  no  touch  of  ours  can  detect  it;  that 
its  vibrations  are  so  rapid  that  trillions  of  them 
enter  the  eye  in  the  briefest  glance  we  can  take  at 
any  object;  that  it  can  convey  a  message  to  a  dis- 


l68   NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TKACIIINGS. 

taiice  equal  to  the  circumference  of  tlie  globe  in 
the  seventh  part  of  a  second  of  time.  In  short, 
science  tells  us  that  there  is  about  us  light  to 
which  we  are  blind,  sounds  to  which  we  are  deaf, 
heat  and  magnetism  and  electricity  to  which  we 
are  insensible,  that  a  thousand  forms  of  force 
strike  us  hourly  which  our  dull  nerves  perceive 
not,  that  a  thousand  objects  and  motions  encom- 
pass us  which  the  narrow  bounds  of  our  organs 
fail  to  take  in. 

With  such  facts  as  these  laid  before  us,  where 
are  the  objections  to  a  "spiritual  body"  based 
npon  the  nature  and  properties  of  matter  ?  Who 
is  warranted  to  assert  that  earthly  elements  cannot 
furnish  materials  to  constitute  just  such  bodies  as 
are  promised  to  the  saints  at  the  resurrection  day? 
Who  that  knows  the  mystic  transformations  of 
both  matter  and  force  which  perpetually  surprise 
the  chemist  and  the  physicist  will  presume  to  say 
what  can  or  what  cannot  be  wrought  out  by  Infi- 
nite Wisdom  in  the  vast  and  complicated  labora- 
tory of  nature?  Do  not  these  teachings  of  science 
itself  go  to  show  that,  for  all  we  know,  there  may 
be  a  world  of  spiritual  existences,  all  clothed  in 
material  bodies,  around  us  at  this  very  moment — 
inhabiting  this  same  globe,  enjoying  these  same 
scenes  of  nature — of  whom  we  have  no  percep- 
tion; that  they  may  be  in  happy  activity  and  vi- 


THE    RESURRKCTION   OF  THE   DEAD.        169 

brating  their  angelic  songs  in  ineffable  harmony 
on  every  side,  all  unseen  and  unheard  by  us? 
Why,  then,  should  it  be  deemed  by  any  a  thing 
incredible  that  God  should  clothe  his  redeemed 
with  bodies  incorruptible,  immortal,  and  glorious, 
according  to  the  sure  word  of  his  promise  ?  Who 
shall  limit  the  Holy  One,  to  whom  all  things  are 
possible  ? 

TO   EVERY  SEED   HIS   OWN   BODY. 

St.  Paul,  in  describing  the  resurrection  body, 
employs  this  comparison  and  illustration:  *'That 
which  thou  sowest  is  not  quickened  except  it  die; 
and  that  which  thou  sowest,  thou  sowest  not  that 
body  that  shall  be,  but  bare  grain,  it  may  chance 
of  wheat  or  of  some  other  grain;  but  God  giveth 
it  a  body  as  it  hath  pleased  him,  and  to  every  seed 
his  own  body.  ...  So  also  is  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead."  In  this  passage  we  have  three  important 
facts  stated. 

I.  That  wJiicJi  tJioit  sozvcst  is  not  quickened  ex- 
cept it  die.  The  grain  of  seed  sown  must  decay  in 
the  ground  before  it  can  produce  other  and  new 
grains.  Its  death  is  a  necessary  step  in  the  order 
of  nature.  So  with  man.  His  death,  in  the  or- 
der of  grace,  is  a  necessary  break  in  the  chain  of 
his  corporeal  existence  that  his  renovation  may  be 
perfect  and  complete.     This  break  makes  an  ab- 


I/O   NATURAI,  LAWS  AND  GOSPKl.  TEACHINGS. 

solute  separation  between  the  corrupt  body  of  sin 
that  was  and  the  new  and  spiritual  body  that 
shall  be;  "for  "corruption  cannot  inherit  incor- 
ruption."  The  old  tabernacle,  infected  with  sin, 
must  be  dissolved,  and  a  new  mansion,  "  undefiled 
and  incorruptible,"  reared  in  its  stead.  And  in 
this  way  man  shall  be  redeemed  in  body  as  well 
as  in  soul  from  the  last  taint  of  sin. 

2.  ThotL  sowcst  not  that  body  that  shall  he.  The 
seed  produced  is  not  composed  exclusively  of  the 
identical  materials  or  particles  that  composed  the 
seed  sown,  for  the  former  may  be  thirty  or  sixty 
or  a  hundred  fold  greater  in  amount  than  the  lat- 
ter. New  matter  has  been  seized  upon  and  em- 
l^loyed.  The  seed  produced,  however,  is  the  same 
in  kind  and  has  been  constituted  out  of  the  same 
elements.  So  shall  it  be  with  man  in  the  resur- 
rection. A  change  will  take  place.  The  expres- 
sion "resurrection  of  the  body"  or  "resurrection 
of  the  flesh"  nowhere  occurs  in  the  Scriptures. 
But  the  promise  is  that  "this  vile  body  shall  be 
changed,"  and  man  shall  be  "clothed  upon" 
with  a  "house  not  made  with  hands,"  a  house 
made  out  of  the  same  earthly  materials  as  before, 
but  constituted  so  differently  that  it  shall  be  in- 
corruptible, immortal,  and  glorious. 

3.  He giveth  to  every  seed  his  own  body;  not  the 
identical  body  of  the  seed  from  which  it  sprang. 


THE   RESURRECTION   OF   THE   DEAD.        171 

but  one  that  shall  be  to  it,  in  all  respects,  what 
that  was  to  the  original  seed;  and  in  this  sense, 
and  in  no  other,  it  is  called  its  "own  body." 
And  as  with  the  seed,  so  shall  it  be  with  man.  In 
the  same  sense  he  shall  have  his  "own  body." 
Identity  of  matter  is  not  implied  in  the  expres- 
sion, as  applied  to  the  one  or  the  other.  A  man's 
body  is  called  Jiis  from  its  union  with  his  living- 
soul  and  the  mutual  influence  of  the  one  on  the 
other.  The  constituent  particles  of  the  body,  as 
we  have  seen,  are  in  perpetual  change;  but  from 
its  belonging  all  along  to  the  same  soul  and  con- 
veying feelings  and  perceptions  to  the  same  mind 
and  obeying  the  directions  of  the  same  will^  we 
regard  and  call  it  the  same  body.  So  at  the  resur- 
rection, if  we  shall  be  clothed  with  bodies  which 
we,  in  this  way,  perceive  to  belong  to  us  and  to 
be  ours,  it  will  signify  nothing  of  what  particular 
particles  of  matter  they  will  be  composed,  wdieth- 
er  of  those  which  belonged  to  it  at  some  former 
period  or  of  others  drawn  from  the  same  common 
source. 

The  difficulties  wdiich  to  some  appear  to  beset 
the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  arise,  for  the  most 
part,  from  strained  interpretation  of  Scripture  or 
from  pressing  its  general  statements  to  express  de- 
tails and  particulars  they  were  never  meant  to 
cover.     The  sum  and  the  substance  of  the  prom- 


I'] 2  NATURAI.  LAWS  AND  GOSPEI.  TEACHINGS. 

ise  is  that  at  the  last  day  Christ  will  bring  with 
him  the  spirits  of  the  faithful  and  clothe  them 
with  bodies  like  unto  his  own  glorious  body,  fitted 
for  the  services  and  enjoyments  of  a  righteous  and 
spiritual  state  of  existence.  And  then  shall  be 
brought  to  pass  the  word  that  is  written,  ''O 
death,  where  is  thy  sting?  O  grave,  where  is 
thy  victory  ?  The  sting  of  death  is  sin,  and  the 
strength  of  sin  is  the  law.  But  thanks  be  to  God, 
who  giveth  us  the  victory  through  our  I^ord  Jesus 
Christ." 


THE   FINAL  CONFLAGRATION.  1 73 


PART  V. 

THE   FINAL  CONFLAGRATION. 

The  globe  upon  which  we  dwell  in  the  course 
of  its  prolonged  and  eventful  history  has  passed 
through  many  and  great  and  surprising  transfor- 
mations. The  investigations  of  science  have 
brought  to  light  abundance  of  evidence  that  its 
whole  surface  has  been  destroyed  and  renewed 
again  and  again,  and  that  all  its  living  tenants 
have  again  and  again  been  swept  away  and  re- 
placed by  others.  And  the  Holy  Scriptures  inform 
us  that  it  is  destined  to  be  destroyed  yet  once 
more,  and  aftewards  to  be  renovated  and  beauti- 
fied so  as  to  be  a  fit  abode  for  a  population  of  right- 
eous and  happy  beings. 

The  disclosures  made  to  us  concerning  this 
final  destruction  and  the  bright  and  blessed  econ- 
omy that  is  to  succeed  are,  it  is  true,  few  and  gen- 
eral, yet  such  as  must  be  contemplated  with  pro- 
found and  peculiar  interest  by  every  believer  in 
the  sacred  volume.  No  details  are  given,  no 
graphic  or  picturesque  description  is  presented; 
and  the  reserve  thus  maintained  in  the  informa- 
tion granted  bids  us  maintain  the  same  in  our  in- 


174    NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

quiries.  But  while  we  are  not  to  presume  to  be 
wise  above  what  is  written,  yet  it  is  our  privilege 
and  our  duty  to  attempt  to  be  wise  up  to  the  meas- 
ure of  what  has  been  communicated  in  the  Word 
and  what  has  been  revealed  in  the  works  of  our 
Father  in  heaven;  and  it  is  with  this  view  and  in 
this  spirit  that  we  now  proceed  to  consider  this 
interesting  subject. 

Whcjt  this  great  and  final  change  shall  be 
brought  about  we  are  not  told.  We  have  no  data 
in  nature  from  which  we  can  calculate,  nor  any 
statement  or  hint  in  Scripture  from  which  we  can 
conjecture,  when  the  end  of  the  present  economy 
shall  be.  The  times  and  the  seasons  the  Father 
hath  reserved  in  his  own  power.  All  we  are  per- 
mitted to  know  is  that  that  day  v/ill  come  sudden- 
ly and  unexpectedly,  even  as  a  thief  in  the  night. 

We  are  left  in  equal  ignorance  as  to  the  pro- 
cess or  mode  in  which  this  amazing  transforma- 
tion will  be  effected.  We  have  already  seen  that 
the  divine  interposition  was  concerned  in  each  of 
the  great  upward  steps  by  which  our  world  was 
advanced  from  its  dead  and  chaotic  state  to  its 
present  condition  of  order,  life,  and  grandeur;  and 
hence  it  is  reasonable  to  infer  that  the  ha? id  of  God 
will  also  be  directly  concerned  in  introducing  this 
stupendous  and  final  change.  But  as  to  the  mode 
or  course  which   Infinite  Wisdom  will  adopt   to 


THE   FINAI.  CONFLAGRATION.  1 75 

effect  it  we  have  no  information.  It  is  for  us 
therefore  to  confine  ourselves  simply  and  reverent- 
ly to  what  has  been  revealed. 

THK   KI.KMENT  THAT  SHAI.I.   DESTROY  THE 
WORLD. 

*'The  heavens  and  the  earth  which  are  now, 
by  the  same  word  are  kept  in  store,  reserved  unto 
fire  against  the  day  of  judgment  and  perdition  of 
ungodly  men.  .  .  .  The  day  of  the  I^ord  will  come 
as  a  thief  in  the  night;  in  the  which  the  heavens 
shall  pass  away  with  a  great  noise  and  the  ele- 
ments shall  melt  with  fervent  heat,  the  earth  also 
and  the  works  that  are  therein  shall  be  burned 
up." 

That  the  world  should  finally  be  destroyed  by 
fire  was  an  opinion  commonly  entertained  by  the 
ancient  philosophers,  especially  of  the  Greeks. 
Heraclitus  is  said  to  have  "  discoursed  much  con- 
cerning the  conflagration  of  the  world."  Sopho- 
cles taught  that  "a  raging  fire  shall  devour  all 
things  earthly  and  above."  Lucian  put  forth  the 
same  idea.  "Coming  events  in  futurity,"  said 
he,  "are  extremely  lamentable;  I  mean  the  gen- 
eral conflagration  which  will  consume  the  uni- 
verse." So  also  Cicero:  "It  will  happen  some 
day  or  other  that  all  this  world  will  be  burned  up 
with  fire."     And  Ovid  has  these  expressive  lines: 


176   NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

"  Remembering  in  the  fates  a  time  when  fire 
Shall  to  the  battlements  of  heaven  aspire, 
And  all  this  blazing  world  above  shall  burn 
And  all  the  inferior  globe  to  cinders  turn." 


This  was  the  common  idea  entertained  among  the 
stoics  and  epicureans.  It  is  remarkable  that  none 
of  them  fancied  that  it  would  be  by  water.  What 
the  foundation  of  their  opinion  was  it  is  impossi- 
ble now  to  determine;  but  whatevei  its  origin,  we 
cannot  but  regard  it  as  a  remarkable  coincidence 
with  the  sacred  announcement  before  us. 

But  to  return  to  the  apostle's  words:  *'The 
heavens  and  the  earth  which  are  now  are  reserved 
unto  fire."  By  the  "  earth,"  of  course,  is  meant 
the  material  globe  upon  which  we  stand:  this  is 
to  be  subjected  to  the  action  of  fire,  of  intense  and 
dissolvinof  heat.  The  "heavens"  also  are  to  be 
involved  in  the  same  catastrophe;  not,  however, 
the  sidereal  or  the  planetary  heavens,  for  it  cannot 
reasonably  be  supposed  that  those  distant  and 
magnificent  spheres  are  doomed  to  share  in  the 
fate  of  our  isolated  and  revolted  world,  of  which 
alone  the  apostle  here  speaks,  but  the  aerial  heav- 
ens, or  the  atmospheric  ocean  which  envelops  our 
globe.  The  gases  composing  this  shall  be  igni- 
ted, and  so  pass  away  with  a  great  noise  or  explo- 
sion. "  The  earth  and  the  works  that  are  therein 
shall  be  burned  up."     The  whole  vegetable  and 


THE   FINAL  CONI^LAGRATION.  1 77 

animal  creation,  together  with  all  the  most  endu- 
ring works  of  man — his  towers,  temples,  palaces, 
and  monuments — shall  be  consumed  and  swept 
away.  ''The  elements  shall  melt  with  fervent 
heat;"  that  is,  the  constituents  or  component 
parts  of  material  things  shall  undergo  this  change. 
"All  these  things  shall  be  dissolved;"  not  anni- 
hilated, but  "dissolved."  The  substances  com- 
posing the  atmosphere  and  the  earth  shall  remain, 
but  shall  undergo  the  natural  change  of  aspect 
and  composition  produced  by  intense  heat;  and 
out  of  these  materials,  we  are  left  to  infer,  will  be 
formed  a  renovated  world. 

Skeptics  and  scoffers  in  time  past  often  asked, 
Whence  is  to  come  the  fire  that  is  adequate  to 
effect  such  a  dissolution  of  all  nature,  seeing  that 
three-fourths  of  the  earth's  surface  is  covered  with 
the  ocean  waters,  and  that  to  the  depth  of  several 
miles  ?  Our  knowledge  of  the  elements  and  for- 
ces of  nature  at  the  present  day  enables  us  to  re- 
turn a  final  answer  to  this  question  and  to  show 
that  various  and  abundant  means  exist  ready  at 
hand  to  bring  about  the  destruction  of  our  world 
by  fire  at  any  moment,  just  in  the  manner  foretold 
in  the  Scriptures.  A  glance  at  a  few  well-ascer- 
tained facts  will  suffice  to  prove  this. 

Heat  or  fire  lies  latent  in  all  bodies,  all  earthly 
substances,  ready  to  be  called  forth  at  any  instant 

Natural  Laws.  I  2 


178  NATURAI.  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

by  mechanic  and  dynamic  means;  and  as  it  is  one 
of  the  most  energetic  of  the  physical  forces,  so  also 
is  it  one  of  the  most  universally  disseminated. 

The  earth  carries  abundant  means  for  its  de- 
struction in  its  own  bosom.  It  is  supposed  that 
one  vast  and  fathomless  ocean  of  vtolten  and glozv- 
ing  matter  lies  hidden  beneath  the  very  ground 
upon  which  we  w^alk.  The  whole  solid  crust  of 
the  earth,  which  in  thickness  does  not  exceed  the 
1 60th  part  of  its  diameter,  floats  upon  that  ocean 
as  floats  the  ice  on  the  bosom  of  the  lake.  Let  but 
the  balance  of  pressure  and  upheaval  by  which 
this  crust  is  sustained  be  suddenly  destroyed,  and 
a  deluge  of  fire  would  overflow  its  surface  and 
utterly  consume  everything  that  grows  or  moves 
or  lives  upon  it. 

The  electric  element  which  pervades  the  whole 
atmosphere  and  all  the  solid  substances  of  the 
globe  presents  another  agency  adequate  at  any 
moment  to  set  on  fire  and  consume  all  that  exists 
on  the  face  of  the  earth.  Both  the  prevalence 
and  the  power  of  this  element  are  appalling  to 
contemplate.  Its  energy  is  all  but  irresistible; 
in  an  instant  it  rifts  the  oak  into  splinters,  sets 
the  floating  ship  in  a  blaze,  scatters  the  massive 
tower  into  fragments,  scathes  and  vitrifies  the 
rock,  and  melts  to  fluid  the  hardest  metals.  And 
the  ease  and  rapidity  with  v/hich  this  resistless 


the:  final  conflagration.  179 

agent  may  be  accumulated  and  excited  render  it 
still  more  terrible.  "  Even  in  fair  weather,"  says 
Prof.  Cooke,  "its  presence  may  be  detected  in  the 
atmosphere.  During  a  storm,  when  clouds  filled 
with  vesicular  drops  of  water  are  hurried  over  the 
surface,  grinding  against  the  hills  and  the  trees  or 
against  each  other,  the  atmosphere  becomes  a  vast 
hydro -electric  machine,  whose  sparks  are  the 
lightning  and  the  noise  of  its  discharges  the  thun- 
der. The  wonder  is,  not  that  an  occasional  thun- 
derbolt should  kindle  a  conflagration  or  even  cause 
a  death,  but  that  every  storm  does  not  lay  waste 
the  earth  along  its  fiery  track."  Moreover,  when 
we  appreciate  the  vastness  of  the  scale  on  which 
the  electrical  machine  of  nature  is  constructed,  the 
thunderstorm  ceases  to  surprise  us  and  only  calls 
our  attention  to  those  beneficent  provisions  by 
which  we  and  our  race  are  saved  by  a  constant 
miracle  from  the  fate  of  the  Cities  of  the  Plain. 
Here,  then,  is  another  agency,  which,  should  God 
but  remove  his  restraining  hand,  will  be  found 
adequate  to  reduce  to  ashes  all  that  we  now  be- 
hold or  admire  on  the  face  of  the  earth. 

There  is  yet  another  element  of  universal 
prevalence  in  nature  which  is  capable  of  bringing 
about  the  final  conflagration  in  all  its  predicted 
terror  and  destruction,  and  that  is  oxygm.  To 
borrow  again  the  words  of  the  able  chemist  just 


l8o   NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

quoted,  "The  fire  element  in  nature  is  oxygen; 
this  gas  is  the  producer  of  flame  and  combustion, 
and  is  the  mightiest  and  most  destructive  of  all 
the  elements.  Mingled  with  and  restrained  by- 
other  elements  in  its  natural  and  ordinary  condi- 
tion, oxygen  is  bland  and  harmless,  without  odor 
or  taste,  and  seems  devoid  of  any  active  properties. 
But  beneath  this  apparent  mildness  there  is  con- 
cealed an  energy  so  violent  that,  when  once  thor- 
oughly aroused,  nothing  can  withstand  it.  A 
single  spark  of  fire  will  change  the  whole  char- 
acter of  this  element,  and  what  was  before  inert 
and  passive  becomes  in  an  instant  violent  and 
irrepressible.  The  gentle  breeze  which  was  wa- 
ving the  corn  and  fanning  the  browsing  herds 
becomes  the  next  moment  a  consuming  fire  before 
which  the  works  of  man  melt  away  into  air. 
Now  you  may  be  surj^rised  at  the  statement,  but 
it  is  nevertheless  true,  that  between  one-half  and 
two-thirds  of  the  crust  of  this  globe  and  of  the 
bodies  of  its  inhabitants  consists  of  oxygen.  One- 
fifth  of  the  volume  of  the  whole  atmosphere  is 
composed  of  oxygen.  No  less  than  eight-ninths 
of  all  water  is  formed  of  the  same  gas.  It  makes 
up  three-fourths  of  our  own  bodies  and  no  less 
than  four-fifths  of  every  plant  and  at  least  one- 
half  of  the  solid  rocks.  I^et,  then,  this  element 
but  be  released,  let  the  mysterious  affinities  that 


THE   FINAI.  CONFI.AGRATION.  l8l 

now  hold  it  in  restraint  but  cease,  and  the  hard- 
ened rocks  or  even  the  very  waters  of  the  ocean 
would  supply  the  fire  and  fervent  heat  that  would 
consume  the  earth  and  the  works  that  are  therein. ' ' 

The  apostle  states  that  at  the  final  conflagra- 
tion "  the  heavens  shall  pass  away  with  a  great 
noise."  This  will  attend  the  event  as  a  natural 
result.  When  chemical  experiments  are  made  on 
a  small  scale  with  the  natural  gases  they  are  often 
attended  with  loud  and  destructive  explosions.  If, 
then,  on  the  final  day,  at  the  bidding  of  Omnipo- 
tence, the  oxygen  and  nitrogen  which  compose  the 
atmosphere  be  released  from  each  other's  embrace, 
and  the  oxygen,  according  to  its  greater  gravity, 
sink  into  a  separate  layer  along  the  surface  of  the 
earth,  it  is  not  difficult  to  see  how  this  part  of  the 
prediction  will  be  literally  fulfilled.  The  moment 
this  separation  takes  place  a  spark  will  suffice  to 
set  that  oxygen  in  a  blaze  and  envelop  the  whole 
terraqueous  globe  in  one  immense  flame,  wdiicli 
will  necessarily  be  attended  with  a  thousand  con- 
cussions and  explosions,  loud  and  terrific,  as  if  the 
earth  burst  asunder. 

The  predicted  conflagration  of  the  earth,  then, 
is  not  a  thing  impossible  or  improbable,  as  scoffers 
were  wont  to  assert.  Science  has  now  demon- 
strated that  the  various  elements  of  nature  are 
amply  sufficient  for  this  end;  that  their  subtle  and 


l82    NATURAI,  LAWS  AND  GOSPElv  TEACHINGS. 

delicate  combinations  are  invested  with  such  tre- 
mendous power  that  they  require  but  the  slightest 
modification  to  insure  a  literal  fulfilment  of  the 
apostle's  prophecy.  In  the  light  of  the  present 
day  we  see  these  mighty  elements,  as  it  were, 
stand  waiting  for  God's  command  as  so  many 
ministers  of  his  pleasure,  ready  to  carry  out  all  he 
has  purposed  or  threatened  against  this  world  in 
which  we  dwell. 

IvCt  not  the  reader,  however,  interpret  the 
foregoing  statements  to  say  that  thus  and  thus  it 
will  and  must  be.  We  presume  not  to  say  in 
what  way  God  will  accomplish  his  work  or  which 
of  the  instrumentalities  now  named  Infinite  Wis- 
dom may  see  fit  to  employ.  It  may  be  one  or  it 
may  be  another;  or  perhaps  all  of  them  will  act  a 
part  in  the  dread  and  terrific  scene,  and,  if  <?//, 
then  the  poet's  startling  ap)Ostrophe  will  be  more 
than  realised: 

"At  the  destined  hour, 
By  the  loud  trumpet  summoned  to  the  charge, 
See  all  the  formidable  sons  of  fire, 
Eruptions,  earthquakes,  gases,  lightnings,  play 
Their  various  engines ;  all  at  once  disgorge 
Their  blazing  magazines  and  take  by  storm 
This  poor  terrestrial  citadel  of  man. 
Amazing  period !  when  each  mountain  height 
Outburns  Vesuvius  ;  rocks  eternal  pour 
Their  melted  mass,  as  rivers  once  they  poured ; 
Seas  boil,  and  final  ruin  fiercely  drives 
Her  ploughshare  o'er  creation." — young. 


THE   FINAL  CONFI.AGRATION.  183 

CONFLAGRATION   OF  OTHER  WORLDS. 

It  will  be  of  interest  here  to  state,  as  having  a 
bearing  on  this  subject,  that  the  fiery  catastrophe 
which  thus  awaits  this  planetary  globe  has  al- 
ready, it  is  supposed,  been  the  doom  of  some  of 
the  celestial  orbs.  Astronomers  have  once  and 
again  observed  stars  which  seemed  to  be  in  an 
actual  state  of  conflagration. 

In  the  year  1572,  on  the  nth  of  November, 
Tycho  Brahe  observed  in  the  constellation  Cas- 
siopeia^ at  a  place  where  before  he  had  only  seen 
very  small  stars,  a  new  star  of  uncommon  magni- 
tude. It  was  so  bright  that  it  surpassed  even 
Jupiter  and  Venus  in  splendor  and  was  visible 
even  in  the  daytime.  At  the  end  of  a  year,  how- 
ever, it  gradually  diminished,  and  at  length,  in 
March,  1574,  sixteen  months  after  its  discovery, 
entirely  disappeared,  since  which  no  trace  of  it 
has  ever  been  seen.  When  it  first  appeared  its 
light  was  of  a  dazzling  white  color;  two  months 
after  it  became  yellowish;  in  a  few  months  more 
it  assumed  a  reddish  hue,  like  Mars;  in  January 
and  February  of  1574  it  glimmered  only  with  a 
gray  or  lead-colored  light,  and  then  totally  van- 
ished.    Laplace  supposed  that  it  was  burned  up. 

A  similar  phenomenon  was  observed  on  the 
27th  of  April,  1848.     This  appeared  in  the  con- 


184     NATURAT.  T.AWvS  AND  GOSPKIv  TEACHINGS. 

stellation  OpJiiiLchiis ;  its  light  was  reddish  in  the 
telescope,  and  Dr.  Preston  observed  that  the  red- 
dish color  at  times  increased  suddenly  in  in- 
tensity and  again  as  suddenly  disappeared.  Other 
observers  noticed  these  peculiar  red  flashes.  Grad- 
ually it  decreased  in  brilliancy,  till  in  June,  1850, 
when  it  became  extinct. 

Not  longer  ago  than  May,  1866,  the  splendors 
of  another  apparently  new  star  in  Corona  Borealis 
arrested  the  attention  of  astronomers.  Anxiously 
watched  by  competent  observers  in  separate  local- 
ities, its  changes  were  accurately  noted  and  com- 
pared. It  rose  in  magnificent  brilliancy;  it  slowly 
waned;  it  disappeared.  The  astronomer  royal  of 
Bngland  expressed  his  belief  in  the  burning  of 
that  distant  \vorld.  Inflammable  gases  combi- 
ning, it  has  been  supposed,  gave  to  it  the  appear- 
ance by  which  observers  were  dazzled  and  im- 
pressed. 

All  the  above  stars,  as  far  as  the  observers 
could  judge,  seemed  to  pass  through  all  the  stages 
of  a  general  conflagration.  Their  sudden  outburst 
on  the  view,  their  exceeding  brightness  at  first, 
their  subsequent  red  and  fitful  flashes,  their  grad- 
ual fading,  and  their  final  extinction,  presented 
all  the  appearances  of  burning  worlds.  And  such 
they  are  believed  to  have  been  by  eminent  astron- 
omers, as  these  varied  aspects,  and  all  occurring 


THE   FINAI.  CONFLAGRATION.  185 

within  siicli  brief  periods,  can  be  accounted  for 
on  no  other  supposition.  And  if  this  has  been  the 
doom  of  other  worlds,  why  should  we  doubt  the 
sure  word  of  prophecy  that  a  similar  fate  awaits 
our  own  ? 

PAST  DESTRUCTIONS  AND  RENOVATIONS  OF  OUR 
PLANET. 

The  prophetic  view  given  of  the  earth's  future 
destiny  is  in  entire  accord  with  the  vicissitudes  of 
its  past  history,  and  the  destruction  and  renova- 
tion foretold  by  the  apostle  are  scarcely  more  as- 
tonishing than  some  of  the  transformations  through 
which  our  w^orld  has  already  passed.  And  as  it 
may  be  to  some  an  aid  to  faith  in  the  sure  word 
of  prophecy,  we  shall  here  just  glance  at  a  few  of 
these  stupendous  changes. 

J  If  some  spiritual  intelligence,  the  denizen  of 
some  orb  in  the  distant  regions  of  space,  had  set 

\  out  to  visit  our  globe  in  its  primordial  condition, 

according  to  the   latest   theories  of  astronomers 

^   he  would  have  discovered  it  as  a  molten  mass 

enveloped   in  a  dense   and   dark   atmosphere  of 

(  steam.  If,  after  the  lapse  of  ages,  he  visited  it 
a^rain,  he  would  have  witnessed  an  astonishing 

V change;  its  fiery  heat  and  steamy  atmosphere 
have  passed  away,  its  form  is  now  encased  in  a 

^ solid  crust,  its  waters  gathered  into  settled  seas. 


'1 


l86    NATURAI.  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

and  the  sun  and  moon  and  stars  shining  npon  it 
through  a  comparatively  clear  sky.  If,  after  other 
ages  had  rolled  by,  he  came  back  again,  he  would 
have  observed  that  it  had  undergone  another  and 
an  enchanting  transformation;  before  him  would 
spread  out  the  continents  and  islands,  which  he 
had  left  on  his  former  visit  as  barren  and  bare 
rocks,  now  all  clothed  with  a  diversified  and  mag- 
nificent vegetation  extending  from  pole  to  pole. 
If  again,  after  the  lapse  of  eons  more,  he  returned, 
he  would  have  marked  another  astonishing  change 
and  found  that  the  tangled  plains  and  mountain 
forests,  whose  silence  at  his  previous  visit  had 
never  been  broken  by  the  voice  of  beast  or  song 
of  bird,  were  now  swarming  and  echoing  with 
living  tenants  of  a  thousand  varied  forms.  If 
again,  after  another  long  absence,  he  came  back, 
he  would  have  looked  down  upon  our  globe 
wrapped  for  the  most  part  from  pole  to  equator  in 
ice  and  snow  accumulated  to  the  depths  of  hun- 
dreds and  even  thousands  of  feet,  with  huge  gla- 
ciers slowly  moving  down  its  mountain -sides, 
grinding  the  rocks  and  ploughing  out  the  valleys, 
presenting  altogether  a  scene  of  cold  and  cheer- 
less desolation,  yet  one  preparing  the  way  for  a 
brighter  era.  And  if,  once  more,  other  millenni- 
ums having  passed  awa}^,  he  came  back,  he  would 
have  found  that  glacial  rigor  had  given  place  to 


THK    I'INAL   CONFLAGRATION.  187 

a  mild  temperature  and  to  pleasant  scenes,  and  [ 
that  the  world,  which  all  along  had  been  the  ex- 
clusive inheritance  of  mere  brutes,  was  now  in-  /' 
habited  by  myriads  of  intelligent  human  beings,  ' 
dwelling  in  j)leasant  habitations  amid  fruitful 
fields  or  congregated  in  large  and  splendid  cities,  ( 
cultivating  art,  science,  and  literature.  Now  such 
a  being,  who  had  thus  witnessed  these  amazing 
transformations  in  the  condition  of  our  globe, 
would  have  no  difficulty  in  believing  that  it  might 
undergo  other  and  different  changes  still;  that  it 
might  even  be  subjected  to  the  action  of  intense 
heat  as  it  had  been  to  intense  cold,  in  order  to 
advance  it  to  a  yet  higher  state  of  beauty  and 
perfection.  Why,  then,  should  we  have  any  more 
difficulty  in  believing  the  same?  for  all  these 
changes,  in  effect,  are  even  now  before  our  eyes, 
having  been  laid  bare  by  the  labors  of  the  geolo- 
gist. If  one  order  of  things  after  another  has 
thus  once  and  again  given  place  for  higher  and 
higher  manifestations  of  the  wisdom,  power,  and 
goodness  of  God,  why  should  we  doubt  the  still 
higher  and  grander  and  happier  transformation 
promised  in  the  time  to  come  ?  This  our  earthly 
abode  has  not  yet  reached  a  condition  of  perfec- 
tion; neither  have  the  resources  of  the  Almighty 
Creator  been  yet  exhausted.  He  is  abundantly 
able  to  do  fjreater  tliinc^s  than  these. 


l88  NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

THE  NEW  EARTH  AND  NEW  HEAVENS. 

*' Behold,  I  create  new  heavens  and  a  new 
earth;  and  the  former  shall -not  be  remembered 
nor  come  into  mind."     Isa.  65:17. 

'  'As  the  new  heavens  and  the  new  earth  which 
I  will  make  shall  remain  before  me,  saith  the 
Lord,  so  shall  your  seed  remain."     Isa.  66:22. 

*'We,  according  to  his  promise,  look  for  new 
heavens  and  a  new  earth,  wherein  dwelleth  right- 
eousness."    2  Pet.  3:13. 

"And  I  saw  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth; 
for  the  first  heaven  and  the  first  earth  were  passed 
away;  and  there  was  no  more  sea."     Rev.  21:1. 

Such  are  the  inspiring  announcements  of 
Scripture  concerning  the  bright  and  happy  econ- 
omy which  is  to  succeed  the  present  probationary 
and  preparatory  dispensation.  Though  the  earth 
and  the  atmosphere  are  to  be  subjected  to  fervent 
and  dissolving  heat,  yet  we  find  nothing  in  these 
prophetic  revelations  to  indicate  that  the  ele- 
mentary substances  of  the  earth  or  the  air  will  be 
annihilated,  or  that  the  earth  as  a  planet  will  oc- 
cupy any  different  place  or  relation  in  the  solar 
system  from  what  it  does  at  present.  The  terms 
employed  by  the  sacred  writers  lead  us  to  infer 
that  its  materials,  though  "dissolved,"  will  re- 
main, and  that  out  of  them  is  to  be  constituted 


THE   FINAI.  CONFI.AGRATION.  1 89 

the  '^new  earth,"  which  is  to  abide  and  continue 
its  revolutions  in  the  great  system  of  nature  as 
before.  But  its  cosmical  arrangements,  we  are 
given  to  understand,  will  be  widely  different. 

"We  look  for  new  heavens,"  that  is,  aerial 
heavens  constituted  anew.  What  that  constitu- 
tion will  be  we  are  not  informed.  But  we  know 
from  actual  experiments  that  the  present  consti- 
tution of  the  atmosphere  might  be  altered,  and 
greatly  altered,  in  various  ways.  It  might  be 
rarified  or  might  be  rendered  more  dense  than  it 
is  at  present,  and  either  of  these  changes  would 
also  change  its  refractive  powers  as  well  as  its 
temperature.  Or,  the  gase-s  composing  it  might 
be  combined  in  different  proportions,  and  in  this 
way  be  rendered  more  stimulating  or  more  exhil- 
arating and  delightful.  Or,  it  might  be  made 
capable  of  suspending  less  aqueous  vapor,  and  thus 
render  the  celestial  orbs,  as  seen  through  it,  far 
more  brilliant  and  glorious.  Or,  it  might  be 
made  to  intercept  less  and  to  reflect  more  of  any 
of  the  various  colors  combined  in  the  sunbeams, 
and  thus  clothe  the  face  of  nature  in  widely  dif- 
ferent and  infinitely  more  beauteous  hues.  But 
what  the  changes  that  shall  be  made  will  be  we 
know  not.  All  that  is  said  is  that  we  are  to  look 
for  ' '  new  heavens. ' ' 

"And  a  new  earth."     This  is  all  the  informa- 


190    NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPKL  TEACHINGS. 

tioii  vouchsafed  to  us  where  our  natural  curiosky 
would  ardently  crave  for  more.  No  description 
of  either  scenery  or  climate  or  productions  is 
given.  One  hint,  however,  is  dropped:  "There 
shall  be  no  more  sea."  If  this  expression  is  to  be 
taken  literally,  then  a  new  and,  to  us,  altogether 
imknown  and  unimao^inable  series  of  arrange- 
ments  and  compensations  are  to  be  introduced 
into  its  physical  constitution  and  moral  adapta- 
tions, for  we  cannot  conceive  how  the  world  could 
be  fitted  for  organized  existences  without  a  sea. 
But  whatever  may  be  the  meaning  of  these  words, 
we  are  assured  that  this  earth  is  then  to  be  fash- 
ioned and  furnished  to  be  a  suitable  and  delight- 
ful abode  for  innocent  and  righteous  beings,  and 
that,  therefore,  nothing  will  be  admitted  into  its 
constitution  or  arrangements  that  will  be  liable 
to  inflict  injury  or  pain  or  sorrow,  and  nothing 
left  out  that  will  be  essential  to  innocent  enjoy- 
ment, to  intellectual  progress,  or  to  devout  and 
holy  services.  It  will  be  a  secure,  peaceful,  de- 
lightful, and  glorious  world — a  second  paradise, 
and  such  as  shall  exceed  all  our  present  hopes 
and  expectations;  "for  eye  hath  not  seen,  ear 
hath  not  heard,  neither  have  entered  into  the 
heart  of  man,  the  things  which  God  hath  prepared 
for  them  that  love  him. '  * 


THE   FINAI.  CONFLAGRATION.  191 

THE   DWELLERS  OF  THE   NEW  EARTH. 


*' Wherein  dwelleth  righteousness."    The  new  ^ 
heavens  and  new  earth,  then,  into  which,  accord- 
ing to  this  interpretation  of  prophecy,  the  pres-   \ 
ent  disordered  and  corrupt  world  shall  be  trans- 
formed is  to  be  the  abode  of  righteous  beings.    And   "^ 
who  will  these  be  ?     We  have  the  answer  in  the 
apostle's  words;  mark  them:  \ 

"  We  look  for" — that  is,  we  wait  and  hope  for; 
a  form  of  expression  that  clearly  implies  that  Peter  v. 
and  his  fellow- Christians  expected  to  be  inheritors 
of  the  new  earth  and  new  heavens.  And  upon  ^ 
this  expectation  he  grounds  this  exhortation: 
**  Wherefore,  beloved,  seeing  \h2it  ye  look  for  swc\\ 
things,  be  diligent,  that  ye  may  be  found  of  Him 
in  peace,  without  spot  and  blameless." 

It  is  obvious,  hence,  that  the  dwellers  of  the  \ 
new  earth  and  new  heavens  are  to  be  the  risen  ^ 
saints  of  the  Most  High,  all  clothed  in  bodies  like 
unto  the  glorified  body  of  the  Son  of  God,  all  sin- 
less creatures,  living  in  free  and  full  converse 
with  the  Being  who  made  and  saved  and  sancti- 
fied them,  and  enjoying  the  friendships  and  shar- 
ing the  delights  of  angels. 

According  to  the  Scriptures,  then,  we  are  not 
to  conceive  of  the  redeemed  in  their  final  state  as 
mere   spiritual  existences,   dwellers  of  an   aerial 


192    NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

»  region  mysteriously  suspended  upon  nothing,  but 

/  as  having  material  bodies  endowed  with  organs  of 

sense  and  perception,  having  solid  ground  beneath 

them   and  a  visible  firmament  over  them,  with 

scenes  of  luxuriance  and  grandeur  and  delight 

<5  encompassing  them  on  every  side,  dwelling  amid 
all  the  warm  and  living  accompaniments  of  so- 
cial and  kindly  intercourse  of  loved  and  loving 
f  communion  with  associates,  and  rejoicing  in  the 
sensible  tokens  of  an  ever-present  and  presiding 
Deity.  And  it  may  assist  our  faith  and  aid  our 
conception  as  to  how  this  can  be  in  a  material 

^  world  to  remember  that  all  this  was  originally  the 

'  happy  lot  of  the  first  parents  of  our  race;  and 
above  all,  that  the  Son  of  Man,  though  clothed  in 
a  material  body  and  living  amid  material  scenes, 
0  yet  ever  enjoyed  the  ministry  of  angels  and  the 
unclouded  presence  and  communion  of  the  Father. 
And  2ve^   it  is  promised,  ''shall  be  like  him,  for 

]  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is." 

Some  seem  to  think  that  there  is  a  grossness 
connected  with  a  material  body  and  a  material 
abode  that  is  incompatible  with  perfect  holiness 
or  complete  happiness;  but  this  is  an  erroneous 
idea  and  meets  with  a  sufficient  refutation  in  the 
person  of  our  blessed  Redeemer.  That  he,  the 
divinity,  should  wrap  his  unfathomable  essence 
in  a  covering  of  flesh  and  blood  and  live  among 


THE   FINAI,  CONFLAGRATION.  1 93 

US  in  the  palpable  form  and  structure  of  a  man, 
and  that  he  should  not  only  have  chosen  such  a 
tenement  as  a  temporary  abode,  but  that  he  should 
have  borne  it  with  him  into  heaven,  the  high  and 
holy  place  he  now  occupies  at  the  right  hand  of 
God — this  assuredly  is  a  sufficient  attestation  that 
a  material  body  and  a  material  abode  may  con- 
sist with  perfect  holiness  and  complete  happi- 
ness. 

' '  When  once  sin  is  done  away, ' '  says  the  de- 
vout and  eloquent  Dr.  Chalmers,  "it  consists 
with  all  we  know  of  God's  administration  that 
what  is  material  shall  be  perpetuated  in  the  full 
bloom  and  vigor  of  immortality.  It  altogether 
holds  out  a  warmer  and  more  alluring  picture  of 
the  elysium  that  awaits  us  when  told  that  there 
will  be  beauty  to  delight  the  eye  and  music  to 
regale  the  ear  and  the  comfort  that  springs  from 
all  the  charities  of  intercourse  between  man  and 
man,  holding  converse  as  they  now  do  and  glad- 
dening each  other  with  the  benignant  smiles  that 
play  on  the  human  countenance  or  the  accents  of 
kindness  that  fall  in  soft  and  soothing  melody 
from  the  human  voice.  There  is  much  of  the 
innocent  and  much  of  the  inspiring  and  much  to 
affect  and  elevate  the  heart  in  the  scenes  and  con- 
templations of  that  which  is  material ;  and  we  do 
hail  the  information  of  the  Scriptures  that  after 

KHtmal  I.aws.  J^ 


194   NATURAL  LAWS  AND  GOSPEL  TEACHINGS. 

the  dissolution  of  its  jDresent  framework  it  will 
again  be  varied  and  decked  out  anew  in  all  the 
graces  of  its  unfading  verdure  and  of  its  unbound- 
ed variety;  that  in  addition  to  our  direct  and  per- 
sonal view  of  the  Deity  when  he  comes  down  to 
tabernacle  with  man  we  shall  also  have  the  reflec- 
tion of  him  in  a  lovely  mirror  of  his  own  work- 
manship; and  that  instead  of  being  transported  to 
some  abode  of  dimness  and  of  mystery  so  remote 
from  human  experience  as  to  be  beyond  all 
human  comprehension,  we  shall  walk  for  ever  in 
a  land  replenished  with  those  sensible  delights 
and  those  sensible  glories  which,  we  doubt  not, 
will  lie  most  profusely  scattered  over  the  new 
heavens  and  the  new  earth,  wherein  dwelleth 
righteousness. ' ' 

Thus  at  last  this  earth,  which  through  all  the 
ages  of  its  sad  history  has  been  a  blot  on  the  fair 
face  of  God's  creation — the  dark  habitation  of 
fallen,  sinful  men,  the  theatre  of  iniquity  and  cor- 
ruption and  crime — shall  be  purified  by  a  baptism 
of  fiire,  and  by  the  Creator's  might  shall  be  reno- 
vated and  beautified  to  be  the  blissful  abode  of  a 
virtuous  and  holy  population,  all  sinless,  all  hap- 
py, all  Christlike  in  body  and  spirit!  *' There 
shall  in  no  wise  enter  into  it  anything  that  defi- 
leth."  ''And  there  shall  be  no  more  death,  nei- 
ther sorrow  nor  crying"  nor  pain.      And  "they 


THE    FINAL   CONFLAGRATION.  I95 

shall  hunger  no  more,  neither  thirst  any  more." 
But  "the  Lamb  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the 
throne  shall  feed  them,  and  shall  lead  them  unto 
living  fountains  of  waters. ' ' 


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